Jump to content
 







Main menu
   


Navigation  



Main page
Contents
Current events
Random article
About Wikipedia
Contact us
Donate
 




Contribute  



Help
Learn to edit
Community portal
Recent changes
Upload file
 








Search  

































Create account

Log in
 









Create account
 Log in
 




Pages for logged out editors learn more  



Contributions
Talk
 



















Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Education  





2 Life and career  



2.1  Current journalism  





2.2  Rector of The University of Edinburgh  







3 See also  





4 Bibliography  





5 References  














Iain Macwhirter






Català
 

Edit links
 









Article
Talk
 

















Read
Edit
View history
 








Tools
   


Actions  



Read
Edit
View history
 




General  



What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Cite this page
Get shortened URL
Download QR code
Wikidata item
 




Print/export  



Download as PDF
Printable version
 
















Appearance
   

 






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Iain MacWhirter
Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh
In office
13 February 2009 – 10 January 2012
Preceded byMark Ballard
Succeeded byPeter McColl
Majority2,640
Personal details
Born (1952-09-24) 24 September 1952 (age 71)
ResidenceEdinburgh
EducationGeorge Heriot's School
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
OccupationJournalist

Iain Macwhirter (born 24 September 1952)[1][2] is a Scottish political journalist. He is a political commentator for several newspapers, an author and documentary film and radio presenter and a former Rector of Edinburgh University. He has worked at both the UK Parliament and Scottish Parliament, presenting the BBC2 programmes Westminster Live, Scrutiny and, from 1999, the BBC TV programme Holyrood Live from the Scottish Parliament.

In 2013, he published Road to Referendum, which accompanied a three-part television series of the same name on STV and ITV.[3] Following the Scottish independence referendum, he published Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster Won A Referendum But Lost Scotland,[4] a retrospective on his experiences as a journalist documenting the campaign. In 2015, his book Tsunami, about the SNP's victory in the 2015 general election, was published by Freight Books.[5]

Education[edit]

Macwhirter was educated at George Heriot's School, a grant-aided independent schoolinEdinburgh, Scotland, followed by the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an honours degree in politics.[2]

Life and career[edit]

In his Road to Referendum Macwhirter recounts rejecting his parents' nationalism in the 1970s. He worked for the BBC for almost 20 years, first as a researcher and then as a current affairs reporter, before becoming Scottish political correspondent in 1987.[2] From 1989, he was a member of the Westminster press contingent, as part of Westminster Live. In 1999, he presented Politics Scotland and Holyrood Live until both were axed in 2007 and 2009 respectively.

Current journalism[edit]

Macwhirter writes weekly columns for The Herald, The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, all morning papers. He returned to Scotland to help launch the Sunday Herald in 1999, and has presented the Scottish Parliament magazine programme Holyrood Live. He also writes for Public Finance and other publications.

Macwhirter's columns were suspended by The Herald in September 2022, after allegations he posted an offensive tweet about members of Liz Truss's cabinet.[6]

Rector of The University of Edinburgh[edit]

Macwhirter announced that he was standing for Rector of the University of Edinburgh on 12 January 2009,[7] and was backed by George Galloway following the latter's withdrawal as a candidate for the post.[8] He was elected Rector on 13 February 2009, winning by 4,822 votes to 2,182 (69% to 31%).[9] succeeding the former Green MSP Mark Ballard.

See also[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

References[edit]

  • ^ a b c "MACWHIRTER, Iain". Who's Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • ^ "Road to Referendum" Archived 12 February 2015 at archive.today, Cargo Publishing
  • ^ "Disunited Kingdom: How Westminster Won A Referendum But Lost Scotland". Archived 19 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Cargo Publishing
  • ^ "Tsunami by Iain Macwhirter - Freight Books". Freightbooks.co.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  • ^ The Herald [@heraldscotland] (7 September 2022). "We are aware of an offensive tweet by one of our freelance contributors, Iain Macwhirter..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  • ^ Macwhirter, Iain (12 January 2009). "Pity the students of Generation Crunch". The Herald. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009.
  • ^ "Galloway backs Macwhirter in rector race", The Scotsman, 7 February 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  • ^ "Iain Macwhirter chosen as Edinburgh's 50th Rector" (Press release). University of Edinburgh. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  • Academic offices
    Preceded by

    Mark Ballard

    Rector of the University of Edinburgh
    2009–2012
    Succeeded by

    Peter McColl


    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iain_Macwhirter&oldid=1216669449"

    Categories: 
    1952 births
    Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
    BBC television presenters
    Living people
    People educated at George Heriot's School
    Rectors of the University of Edinburgh
    Scottish journalists
    Scottish republicans
    The Guardian people
    Hidden categories: 
    Webarchive template archiveis links
    Webarchive template wayback links
    Articles with short description
    Short description is different from Wikidata
    Use dmy dates from June 2017
    Use British English from June 2017
    Articles with ISNI identifiers
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
    Articles with GND identifiers
    Articles with LCCN identifiers
    Articles with PLWABN identifiers
    Articles with CINII identifiers
    Articles with SUDOC identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 1 April 2024, at 10:08 (UTC).

    Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.



    Privacy policy

    About Wikipedia

    Disclaimers

    Contact Wikipedia

    Code of Conduct

    Developers

    Statistics

    Cookie statement

    Mobile view



    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki