2016 in Scotland

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See also:	List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 2016 in: The UK • England • Wales • Ireland • Elsewhere Scottish football: 2015–16 • 2016–17 2016 in Scottish television

Events from the year 2016 in Scotland.

Incumbents

Further information: Politics of Scotland and Order of precedence in Scotland

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Nicola Sturgeon (since 20 November 2014)
• Secretary of State for Scotland – David Mundell

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Frank Mulholland; then, from 1 June 2016, James Wolffe
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Lesley Thomson; then, from 1 June 2016, Alison Di Rollo
• Advocate General for Scotland – Lord Keen of Elie

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Carloway
• Lord Justice Clerk – vacant until April; then Lady Dorrian
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Minginish

Events

January

• 1 January – Newly declassified records released by the Scottish Government show the workings of the Scottish Executive's first full year of operation, covering major events throughout the year 2000; including First Minister Donald Dewar's death in office.[1]
• 4 January – As strong winds and heavy rain continue to batter parts of Scotland, with more than thirty flood warnings issued by SEPA, the owner of historic Abergeldie Castle is forced to evacuate the sixteenth century tower house in Aberdeenshire after the River Dee has swept away land behind the properly, leaving it only a few feet from the water.[2]
• 5 January – The new head of Police Scotland is formally sworn in during a ceremony at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan Castle in Fife.[3]
• 9 January – Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announces that every household, business or charity in the country directly affected by flood water will receive a grant of £1,500.[4]
• 17 January – For the first time, the typical pay of a Scottish employee has risen above those in England, according to a new study.[5]
• 19 January – The pro-Union Better Together organisation is fined £2,000 by Electoral Commission over referendum spending.[6]

February

• 8 February – Natural gas from North Sea fields begins to flow from a new plant in Shetland operated by Total.[7]

March

• 24 March
  • Longannet power station, the last coal-fired power plant in Scotland, is closed.[8]
  • Murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow.

April

• 7 April – It is announced that the last native person born on the island of St Kilda, Rachel Johnson, has died at the age of 93 at a care home in Clydebank.[9]
• 9 April – Two people are drowned and one is reported missing after the fishing boat Louisa sinks off the coast of the Western Isles.[10]
• 13 April – Lady Dorian appointed as Lord Justice Clerk, succeeding Lord Carloway.[11] She is the first woman to hold the post.[12]

May

• 5 May – elections to the Scottish Parliament are held. The Scottish National Party win the election and a third term in government, but fall two seats short of securing an overall majority, whilst the Scottish Conservatives replace Scottish Labour as the main opposition party.
• 17 May – John Beckett QC installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Beckett.[13]
• 24 May – Alistair Clark QC installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Clark.[14]
• 31 May – Andrew Stewart installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Ericht.[15]

June

• 20 June – The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rules that Murray Pringle, an accountant from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, is the legitimate heir to the baronetcy of Pringle of Stichill, in the Scottish Borders, which was dormant after the death of the 10th Baronet in 2013.[16]

July

August

• 8 August – The Transocean Winner oil rig runs aground, at Dalmore beach, in Carloway, on the west side of Lewis. The oil rig was being towed from Norway to Malta, when it became detached from the tugboat.[17]

September

• September – City Campus, City of Glasgow College, designed by Reiach and Hall Architects and Michael Laird Architects, opens.[18]
• 25 September – The MV Hebrides ferry runs aground at Lochmaddy on North Uist and crashes into the harbour wall.[19]
• 27 September – The first shale gas to be imported to the UK arrives at Ineos's Grangemouth Refinery from the United States;[20] this month also Ineos opens a new headquarters building at Grangemouth.[21]

October

November

December

• 15 December – Frank Mulholland appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice as Lord Mulholland,[22] replacing Lord Stewart.[23]

Deaths

• 2 February – Martin Macdonald, Gaelic broadcaster and journalist (born 1937)[24]
• 15 February – Walter McGowan, world champion boxer (born 1942)[25]
• 27 February – Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, peer, soldier and politician (born 1957)
• 28 February – John Cameron, Lord Coulsfield, judge at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial (born 1934)[26]
• 14 March – Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer (born 1934 in England)
• 31 March – Ronnie Corbett, actor and comedian (born 1930)
• 6 May – Chris Mitchell, footballer (born 1988)[27]
• 11 May – Joe Temperley, saxophonist (born 1929)
• 3 July – Jimmy Frizzell, footballer and football manager (born 1937)
• 26 July – Maggie Macdonald, singer in Scottish Gaelic (born 1952)
• 19 August – Danus Skene, politician and Chief of Clan Skene (born 1944)
• 30 September – Mike Towell, boxer (born 1991)
• 7 October – Alistair Urquhart, soldier, businessman and author (born 1919)
• 19 October – Valerie Hunter Gordon, inventor of the disposable nappy

See also

• 2016 in Northern Ireland

References

1. "Declassified records reveal Scottish executive's early days". BBC News. BBC. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
2. "Drone shows historic castle teetering over flood water". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
3. "Police Scotland: New chief constable Phil Gormley sworn in". BBC News. BBC. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
4. "£1,500 grants for homes and businesses hit by floods". BBC News. BBC. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
5. "Typical Scottish worker's pay tops England for first time". BBC News. BBC. 17 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
6. "Better Together fined by Electoral Commission over referendum spending". BBC News. BBC. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
7. "Total turns on gas from west of Shetland Laggan and Tormore fields". BBC News. BBC. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
8. "Longannet power station closes ending coal power use in Scotland". The Guardian. London. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
9. "Last surviving St Kilda native, Rachel Johnson, dies at 93". The Scotsman. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
10. "Two dead and one missing after fishing boat sinks". BBC News. BBC. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
11. "Appointment of Lord Justice Clerk". Scottish Courts and Tribunals. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
12. McArdle, Helen (13 April 2016). "Scotland appoints first female Lord Justice Clerk". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
13. "Lord Beckett joins Scottish bench". Scottish Legal News. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
14. "Alistair Clark QC made Senator of the College of Justice". Scottish Legal News. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
15. "Lord Ericht joins the bench". Scottish Legal News. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
16. "Pringle of Stichill baronetcy battle won by accountant". BBC News. BBC. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
17. "Drilling rig blown ashore in storms off Western Isles". BBC News. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
18. "City of Glasgow opens new campus in centre of city". BBC News. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
19. "CalMac ferry runs aground in Lochmaddy harbour crash". BBC News. 25 September 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
20. "First US shale gas arrives at Ineos plant in Scotland". BBC News. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
21. "INEOS completes construction of its new, state of the art Grangemouth Headquarters". Grangemouth: INEOS. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
22. "Frank Mulholland QC installed as Senator of the College of Justice" (Press release). Judiciary of Scotland. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
23. "Exclusive: Frank Mulholland appointed temporary judge in advance of installation as Senator". Scottish Legal News. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
24. Ross, David; Maclennan, Hugh Dan (9 February 2016). "Martin Macdonald". The Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
25. Hannan, Martin (19 February 2016). "Obituary: Walter McGowan, world champion boxer". The Scotsman. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
26. "Lockerbie bombing judge Lord Coulsfield dies". BBC News.
27. "Obituary: Chris Mitchell, footballer". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.