Angus MacKay (Scottish politician)

Angus MacKay
Official portrait, 1999
Minister for Finance and Local Government
In office 2 November 2000 – 28 November 2001
First Minister	Henry McLeish
Preceded by	Jack McConnell
Succeeded by	Andy Kerr
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh South
In office 6 May 1999 – 31 March 2003
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Mike Pringle
Personal details
Born	(1964-09-10) 10 September 1964 (age 59) Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Labour Party

Angus MacKay (born 10 September 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Finance and Local Government from 2000 to 2001. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh South constituency from 1999 to 2003.^[1]

Born in Edinburgh, MacKay graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Politics and Modern History. Before entering politics, he worked for Shelter Scotland and served as parliamentary researchers to Adam Ingram and Mo Mowlam, and was political adviser to Henry McLeish. In the 1995 Scottish local election, MacKay was elected to the City of Edinburgh council, and was later appointed Convenor of Finance in the council's committee in 1997. He stood down as a councillor following his election to the Scottish Parliament in the 1999 election.

Donald Dewar appointed MacKay Deputy Minister for Justice under Dewar's administration. Deputising for Jim Wallace, MacKay had particular responsibility for land reform and coordination of the Scottish Executive's drugs policy. Calls for his resignation were made after he claimed the sex offenders register in Scotland was a matter reserved for Westminster. In May 2000, he revealed the Scottish Executive's ten year plan to tackle the drug crisis in Scotland, with an aim to younger drug takers as a young as 11. Following the death of Dewar, McLeish was appointed First Minister and he appointed MacKay to cabinet as Minister for Finance and Local Government.