 | 'Her commitment to Scotland over 32 years of public service was as outstanding as it was unstinting.' Presiding Officer, George Reid MSP, 21 st March 2006. |  |
| 'Her commitment to Scotland over 32 years of public service was as outstanding as it was unstinting.' Presiding Officer, George Reid MSP, 21 st March 2006. | |
MARGARET Ewing, a member of Scotland's most enduring political dynasty and the MSP for Moray, died yesterday.
Mrs Ewing, who was 60, had been suffering from poor health for several years. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and in 2004 she was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.
Last year she announced that the years of hard work and poor health had taken their toll and she would stand down from Holyrood at the 2007 elections.
However, although she had been unwell in recent years, her friends and colleagues believed she had fought off cancer successfully and the news of her death was unexpected as it filtered through to Holyrood yesterday.
As the wife of MSP Fergus Ewing and the daughter-in-law of the SNP founding figure Winnie Ewing, Mrs Ewing was part of the most successful and well-known political family of modern times.
Alex Salmond, the Nationalists' leader, said last night: "Margaret Ewing was an outstanding member of parliament in both Westminster and in Scotland and a hugely supportive friend and colleague.
"She will be missed across the political spectrum because Margaret was one of the few politicians without an enemy in the world."
Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP's Holyrood leader, added that Mrs Ewing was an "inspiration to all who knew her, not least in the brave way she fought illness in recent times".
George Reid, the Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer, who shared a Westminster office with Mrs Ewing as a fellow SNP MP in the 1970s, said: "Her commitment to Scotland over 32 years of public service was as outstanding as it was unstinting."
Jack McConnell, the First Minister, said: "Margaret was popular with members from all parties and we will all miss her."
Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader, was among the first to pay tribute to Mrs Ewing. Ms Goldie said there was "a very real sense of loss" over her death.
Ms Goldie added: "She was an able parliamentarian and a doughty advocate for the constituents whose interests she represented robustly and eloquently."
Born in Lanarkshire, Mrs Ewing trained as a teacher at Glasgow University, where she joined the SNP in 1966.
Just eight years after joining the party, she entered parliament as MP for East Dunbartonshire.
She lost the seat five years later and, after a failed attempt to get back into parliament in 1983 - the same year she married Mr Ewing - she succeeded in 1987, winning Moray from the Tories.
Mrs Ewing became the SNP's parliamentary leader at Westminster but, three years later, was defeated by Mr Salmond in a contest for the leadership of the entire party.
In 1999 she became MSP for Moray but remained the Westminster leader until 2001 when, with all the SNP's MPs apart from Mr Salmond, she stood down to concentrate on Holyrood.
In 2002 it emerged that Mrs Ewing had breast cancer and she underwent treatment in Edinburgh.
Last night Nicol Stephen, the Lib Dem leader and deputy first minister, said Mrs Ewing was "one of the kindest and friendliest people in politics".
It is understood that Mrs Ewing died at her home near Elgin. Her death will bring a by-election in the safe SNP seat of Moray, which she held with a majority of 4,000.
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