2013 in Scotland

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Alex Salmond
• Secretary of State for Scotland – Michael Moore until 7 October; then Alistair Carmichael

  Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Frank Mulholland
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Lesley Thomson
• Advocate General for Scotland – Lord Wallace of Tankerness

  Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Gill
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Carloway
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord McGhie

  Events

January

• 3 January – The Met Office reports that 2012 was the seventeenth-wettest year on record for Scotland.
• 15 January – Former Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan is confirmed as the new manager of the Scotland national football team.
• 19 January – Four people die in an avalanche at Glencoe

  February

• 7 February – Plans announced for a second Gaelic school in Glasgow to meet growing demand.
• 22 February – Cardinal Keith O'Brien, leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland says he believes priests should be able to marry if they wish to do so.
• 25 February – Cardinal Keith O'Brien, steps down as leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, after being accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards priests dating back to the 1980s.
• 27 February –
• *Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia is appointed apostolic administrator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh following the resignation of Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
• *Dumfries and Galloway councillors approve plans for the Star of Caledonia public artwork that will mark the Scotland-England border at Gretna

  March

• 15 March;
• * McCluskey Report recommends legal press regulation in Scotland
• * Cockenzie coal-fired power plant closes
• 20 March – Peterhead is one of two preferred bidders in the £1,000,000,000 competition to encourage the development of carbon capture and storage technology.
• 21 March – The date of the Scottish independence referendum is officially announced as Thursday, 18 September 2014.
• 22 March – Snow and gales blast the West coast of Scotland, plunging about 20,000 homes into darkness

  April

• 1 April – Police Scotland, a single national police force created by the amalgamation of Scotland's eight police forces into one division, comes into effect. Likewise united are the eight Fire & Rescue services into the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
• 8 April – Around 300 people gather for an impromtu street party in Glasgow upon hearing the news of the death of former Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher
• 15 April – The Scottish Premier League fails to achieve the 11-1 majority required to agree a new 12-12-18 model for Scottish football after Ross County and St Mirren FC vote against the proposal.
• 29 April – The tobacco display ban in large shops comes into force.

  May

• 14 May – Launch of Business for Scotland, a pro-independence network of business people campaigning for a "Yes" vote in the 2014 independence referendum.
• 16 May – UKIP leader Nigel Farage is heckled by angry protesters during a campaign visit to Edinburgh.
• 20 May – The Church of Scotland's ruling General Assembly votes to allow actively gay men and women to become ministers.
• 24 May – Yes Scotland announces that a total of 372,103 people had signed the Yes Declaration with sixteen months to go until the referendum on Scottish independence.

  June

• 19 June – Hearts FC placed into administration and will start next season in the top flight with a 15-point deduction
• 20 June – Aberdeen Donside by-election held to elect a successor for Brian Adam; who died in April.
• 21 June – Mark McDonald of the Scottish National Party wins the Aberdeen Donside by-election
• 26 June – The new road bridge across the Firth of Forth is officially named the Queensferry Crossing.
• 27 June – The bill to give sixteen and seventeen-year-olds the right to vote in the Scottish independence referendum is passed by MSPs.
• 28 June – The Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League agree to merge to form the Scottish Professional Football League

  July

• 7 July – Andy Murray wins the Men's Singles at Wimbledon 2013 defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in straight sets. Murray is the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry in 1936, and the first Scotsman to win since Harold Mahony in 1896.

  August

• 22 August – Yes Scotland was forced to close their computer systems after being hacked by "forces unknown". Police Scotland’s Digital Forensic Unit is investigating.
• 23 August – A Super Puma L2 helicopter crashes near Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands, resulting in four fatalities. Operation of the helicopter model is globally suspended.

  September

• 27 September – UK Prime Minister David Cameron rejects an invitation for a head-to-head televised debate on Scottish independence with Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond

  October

• 8 October – The Scottish Government announces that the loss-making Prestwick Airport in Glasgow is to be taken into public ownership.
• 23 October – Ineos announces that the petrochemical plant at Grangemouth is to close with the loss of about 800 jobs.

  November

• 26 November – First Minister Alex Salmond launches the Scottish Government's White Paper setting out its vision for an independent Scotland.
• 29 November – A Glasgow police helicopter crashes into The Clutha Vaults pub, causing eight confirmed deaths and thirty-two injuries.

  December

• 15 December – Andy Murray wins BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2013

  Deaths

• 3 January – Jimmy Halliday, 85, leader of the Scottish National Party from 1956 to 1960,
• 26 January – Lesley Fitz-Simons, actress
• 8 February – Ian Lister, footballer
• 18 February – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress
• 23 February – Bruce Millan, 85, former Scottish Secretary and European Commissioner
• 31 March – Helena Carroll, Scottish-American actress
• 15 May – Billy Raymond, Scottish-Australian television host
• 31 May – Frederic Lindsay, writer of crime fiction
• 9 June – Iain Banks, author
• 22 June – Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Conservative MP for Angus and advocate
• 12 August – David McLetchie Leader of Scottish Conservatives 1998–2005 and MSP 1999–2012
• 16 August – John Ryden, footballer
• 2 November – Jack Alexander of The Alexander Brothers, folk singer