"Church of Scotland Lord Jim Wallace, who served as Scotland's first-ever deputy first minister, has died age 71. The former Scottish Lib Dem leader was undergoing a procedure at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on Thursday, but suffered complications afterwards. His wife Rosie Wallace said their family were "very shocked", adding: "It was all so sudden. He was still incredibly active in a whole host of areas." Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton described Wallace as "one of the architects of modern Scotland"."
"For me personally, he was a mainstay of support throughout my adult life. Even as he went into hospital for the final time, he was still sending me words of advice and I will always try to live up to the standards he set. Throughout his career, Jim was widely respected across party lines for his integrity, calm judgement and deep belief in liberal values: fairness, the rule of law and respect for communities, no matter how remote."
Jim Wallace died aged 71 after complications from a medical procedure at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. His wife Rosie Wallace said the family were very shocked and that he had remained very active. Flags at the Scottish Parliament are flying at half mast until 20:00 on Friday. Wallace served as MP for Orkney and Shetland from 1983 and became MSP for Orkney in 1999. As Scotland's first deputy first minister he covered the top job after Donald Dewar's death and Henry McLeish's resignation. He stepped down in 2007, joined the House of Lords, served on the Calman commission and continued campaigning for the Liberal Democrats as recently as 2024.
Read at www.bbc.com
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