Alexander MacEwen

Who is Alexander MacEwen?

Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen Kt. was a Scottish solicitor and the first leader of the Scottish National Party.

MacEwen was born in Kolkata, India, the son of Robert Sutherland Taylor MacEwen, a barrister and Recorder of Rangoon. He was educated at Clifton College, Bristol and the University of Edinburgh. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1901, he began his legal career in Stornoway, before joining the Inverness legal firm of Stewart Rule & Co., where he later became senior partner.

A Liberal, MacEwen was elected to Inverness Town Council in 1908, and served as Provost of Inverness 1925-1931. During his period in office, Provost MacEwen promoted schemes for the improvement of public health and housing in Inverness, and served as a member of the Inverness-shire Education Committee, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Northern Infirmary. He also served as a councillor on Inverness County Council, representing Benbecula.

In 1930 MacEwen was one of the founders of the Scottish Party, and in the 1933 Kilmarnock by-election he stood as the joint candidate of the Scottish Party and the National Party of Scotland, coming fourth with 6,098 votes.