Lewis Macdonald


Roderick Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish Labour politician and a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland region since 2011. He was MSP for the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 until 2011. He was a deputy minister in the Scottish Executive between March 2001 and May 2007, holding various portfolios.

Early life and career

Born in Stornoway, Macdonald moved with his family to Aberdeenshire as a child, and attended Inverurie Academy and later the University of Aberdeen. Macdonald received an MA in history and a PhD in African studies and later lectured at the university. He is a member of the trade union Unite.

Political career

Prior to his election as an MSP, Macdonald worked as a parliamentary researcher to the MPs Frank Doran and Tom Clarke. After being elected in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Macdonald joined the Scottish Executive in March 2001. He was briefly Deputy Minister for Transport and Planning from March to November 2001. He then served as Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, later renamed Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, from 2001 to 2004. He served as Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development from 2004 to 2005 and Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care from 2005 to 2007.
Between June 2013 and December 2014, Macdonald served as Scottish Labour Chief Whip. He has also led for Scottish Labour on enterprise and tourism, infrastructure, justice and energy. He has served as convener of the Health and Sport Committee since December 2017. He became interim Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament in April 2020, following the self isolation of Christine Grahame during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life

Macdonald is married to Sandra who is an employee at oil company ConocoPhillips. Macdonald also has two children. He is a trustee of the Aberdeen Football Club Supporters' Trust.