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John Allan Stewart (1 June 1942 – 7 December 2016) was a Scottish Conservative politician and Scottish Office minister.[1][2][3]
Stewart was born on 1 June 1942 in North Fife.[1] He attended Bell Baxter High School in Cupar.[1] He then studied at St. Andrews University and Harvard University, where he obtained a first class degree.[1]
He was a lecturer in Political Economy at St. Andrews before standing unsuccessfully for the Dundee East constituency in 1970.[1] He was briefly a councillor in the London Borough of Bromley in the mid-1970s. In the 1970s, he also acted as the Secretary of the Confederation of British Industry.[3]
He was elected MP for East Renfrewshire in 1979.[3] His maiden speech as an MP was in support of a motion to repeal the Scotland Act 1978, which would have established a new devolved Scottish Assembly.[3] He served on the Scottish Affairs Select Committee for 2 years.[3] He continued as MP for the East Refrewshire area in its successor Eastwood from 1983 until 1997.[1] He served two periods as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland at the Scottish Office from 1981 to 1986, and from 1990 to 1995.[3] He was responsible initially for health, home affairs and environment at the Scottish Office.[3] After 1983, he was responsible for industry and education at the Scottish Office until he left the position in 1986.[3] One of his final acts, while responsible for education in Scotland, was to order the phased closure of Leith Nautical College in 1986.[4]
From 1990, he assumed responsibility for the community charge at the Scottish Office.[3] He was described politically as an advocate of Free market ideas and a supporter of Thatcherism ideology.[3]
Stewart was forced to resign his ministerial post after an incident in February 1995, when he brandished a pickaxe at demonstrators who were protesting at the construction of the M77 motorway.[5][6][1] He was subsequently fined £200[3] by the Paisley Sheriff Court for breach of the peace and was forced to give up his position in the Scottish Office.[1]
In March 1997, Stewart was hospitalised, in Dykebar Hospital, Paisley, after suffering a nervous breakdown[3] and due to accusations about his personal life.[7][8] He stood down, not seeking re-election to Parliament in the general election held on 1 May that year, and subsequently retired altogether from politics. Stewart died in December 2016 at the age of 74.[9]
Stewart was married to a woman named Susie and they had one son, Jack, and one daughter, Rosa.[3][1] It was reported that he had an affair with a woman named Catherine Knight, however he remained married to his wife until his death.[1] It was reported late in his career that he had a serious problem with alcohol and participated in the Alcoholics Anonymous program.[1] He was an active member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.[3]
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