Thanksgiving Service for Lord Wallace
A thanksgiving service was held at Dunblane Cathedral to honor Lord Wallace, Scotland's first Deputy First Minister and former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Lord Wallace passed away in January at the age of 71 after undergoing a medical procedure at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which was followed by complications.
Attending the service were politicians including former First Minister Lord McConnell and former Presiding Officer Lord Steel, alongside family and friends. Lord Wallace had been a member of the cathedral choir.
Nicol Stephen, who succeeded Lord Wallace as both leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Deputy First Minister, delivered a eulogy praising his mentor's ability to build strong friendships across political parties.
"Jim embodied the very best of politics - courteous, collegiate, consensual but always with a strong and persuasive voice.
He combined kindness with humility, authority with deep humanity."
Stephen acknowledged Lord Wallace's contributions to significant social policies, including the introduction of free personal care for the elderly and the abolition of student tuition fees.
"He held things together at a time when the new Scottish Parliament was being tested to its very limits,"
he added.
Who was Lord (Jim) Wallace?
Jim Wallace was born in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway. He attended Annan Academy before studying at Cambridge and Edinburgh universities.
He was elected Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland in 1983 and later became a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney in 1999.
During his tenure as Deputy First Minister, he occasionally assumed the role of First Minister, notably after the death of Donald Dewar and the resignation of Henry McLeish.
Wallace stepped down as an MSP in 2007 and was subsequently appointed to the House of Lords.
He contributed to Sir Kenneth Calman's commission on devolution, which recommended expanding the powers of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood).
Remaining a popular figure within the Liberal Democrats, he campaigned alongside his successor Alex Cole-Hamilton as recently as 2024.
Following his legal training, Wallace became a barrister in 1979, focusing mainly on civil law cases, and was appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1997.
Raised in the Church of Scotland, where his father served as an elder, Wallace's life was influenced by both religion and politics.
In 2021, he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
