George Reid

Sir George Newlands Reid (born 4 June 1939) is a Scottish politician and journalist who served as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 1999 to 2003 and then for the Ochil constituency from 2003 to 2007. Reid was Member of Parliament (MP) for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire from February 1974 to 1979. Early life Reid was born on 4 June 1939 in Tullibody, near Alloa, Clackmannanshire, the son of George Reid, a company director, and Margaret (née Forsyth). He was educated at Tullibody School and Dollar Academy. Reid attended the University of St Andrews, where he earned an MA with First-class honours in History in 1962. He then continued with further studies in Switzerland and at Union College in the United States, obtaining a diploma in international relations. Journalist career Reid worked as a broadcast journalist and television producer for the BBC, Granada Television and Scottish Television, and as a print journalist for several newspapers. In this time he produced over 200 television documentaries, including Emmy winner Contract 736, about the construction of the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2.