Biography

Fergus Stewart Ewing was born in Glasgow in 1957 and educated at Loretto School and Glasgow University where he graduated with an LLB.  After qualifying as a solicitor he ran his own legal practice and small business for 17 years.

He was a member of the Federation of Small Business, and the SCDI, and developed policy of the Scottish National Party on business legal and taxation matters, as well as serving on its National Executive Committee and as a Vice Convenor.

He is the son of Winnie, former MP and MEP & MSP for the Highlands & Islands, was husband of the late Margaret MSP for Moray and is brother of Annabelle Ewing an MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Region. He is a member of the Church of Scotland and of the Law Society for Scotland.

Elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 for the constituency of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, he has been re-elected on each of the three subsequent elections, moving from a majority of a nerve wracking four hundred and forty one to a more substantial total of nearly ten thousand for the new seat of  Inverness and Nairn.

A former member of the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, he in the eighties tackled around two thirds of Scotland’s Munros, then in the nineties brought up the rear in some marathons. He enjoys thumping out some jazz numbers on the piano and spending time with his family.

During the first three sessions of the Scottish Parliament he sat on various committees, and was a front bencher on Finance and then Transport.   In 2007 in the minority SNP administration he served as Minister for Community Safety. Since 2011 he has been Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism.