2000 in Scotland

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish
• Secretary of State for Scotland – John Reid

  Law officers

• Lord Advocate –Lord Hardie; then Lord Boyd of Duncansby
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Colin Boyd; then Neil Davidson
• Advocate General for Scotland – Lynda Clark

  Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Cullen
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord McGhie

  Events

• 11 January – a Scottish trawler, the Solway Harvester, sinks in the Irish Sea, killing seven crew.
• 26 January – a tribunal grants the release of a school playground killer, Barbara Glover, who was ordered to be detained without limit of time for the 1991 murder of Diane Watson.
• 11 February – the Royal Bank of Scotland succeeds in the hostile takeover battle for its larger English rival, NatWest Bank, successfully defeating a rival offer by the Bank of Scotland.
• 7 April – the Union Canal reopens for leisure purposes from Linlithgow to Hermiston.
• 29 April – at Murrayfield Stadium, the 2000 Challenge Cup tournament culminates in the Bradford Bulls' 24 – 18 win in the final against the Leeds Rhinos.
• May – the Scottish Parliament meets during this month in the former Strathclyde Regional Council debating chamber in Glasgow.
• 3 May – the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial opens at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands.
• 9 June – the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. Act 2000 receives Royal Assent.
• 21 June – repeal of controversial Section 2B of the Local Government Act 1988 which prevented local authorities from "promoting homosexuality".
• 18 July – Alex Salmond resigns as the leader of the Scottish National Party.
• 4 August – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday in London.
• 23 September – John Swinney wins the Scottish National Party leadership election, succeeding Alex Salmond
• 26–27 October – Following the death of Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish is selected to be First Minister of Scotland by the Scottish Parliament, and is officially appointed by The Queen.
• 21 November – Dennis Canavan MSP resigns as MP for Falkirk West, triggering a by-election.
• 23 November – double by-election held in Glasgow Anniesland to elect successors to Donald Dewar's seats in both the UK Parliament and the Scottish Parliament. Labour holds both seats with swings to the SNP of 6% and 7%.
• 18 December – it is announced that Inverness has been awarded city status.
• 21 December – Falkirk West by-election results in Eric Joyce retaining the UK parliament seat for Labour, though with a majority reduced to just 705 votes in the face of a swing of 16.2% to the SNP.
• 22 December – American pop singer Madonna marries English-born film director Guy Ritchie at Skibo Castle, their son Rocco having been christened at Dornoch Cathedral the previous day.
• Sue Lawrence publishes Scots Cooking.

  Births

• 5 March – Jack Aitchison, footballer

  Deaths

• 2 February – Mary Docherty, Communist activist
• 4 March – Hermann Brück, astronomer
• 1 April – Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish lawyer and judge
• 27 May – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Governor of Hong Kong
• 23 December – Jimmy Shand, accordionist and bandleader

  The arts

• 27 February – comedy drama television series Monarch of the Glen debuts on BBC One nationally.
• 22 March – radio situation comedy series Millport, written by and starring Lynn Ferguson, debuts on BBC Radio 4 nationally.
• James Robertson's novel The Fanatic is published.