Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen

Nicol Ross Stephen, Baron Stephen of Lower Deeside in the City of Aberdeen ( born March 23, 1960 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish politician and member of the Liberal Democrats.

Stephen attended Robert Gordon 's College in Aberdeen and then studied law at the University of Aberdeen. His admission as a lawyer, he acquired subsequently at the University of Edinburgh. By 1988, Stephen worked as a solicitor and then switched to a business enterprise.

House of Commons

1982 Stephen was elected to the Regional Council of the Grampian region and belonged to this until 1992. For the first time Stephen joined the general election in 1987 to national elections. However, he was in his constituency Kincardine and Deeside only the second highest number of votes after the Conservatives Alick Buchanan - Smith. After the death of Buchanan -Smith in 1991, new elections were scheduled, in which Stephen could decide the direct mandate of the constituency for the first time and moved into the British House of Commons. In the following regular general election in 1992 he lost his seat to the Conservatives George Kynoch. As part of the constituency reform 1997, the constituency Kincardine and Deeside was dissolved and Stephen candidate in the 1997 General Election in the newly created constituency of Aberdeen South. But he could not prevail against the Labour candidate Anne Begg is.

Scottish Parliament

In the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999 Stephen was a candidate in the constituency of Aberdeen South. He won the direct mandate before the candidate of the Labour Party and moved into the newly created Scottish Parliament. In the following years, Stephen served in various posts. In the first cabinet under the First Minister Donald Dewar, he was appointed Deputy State Secretary for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, at the Cabinet change in October 2000, then Deputy Secretary of State for Education, Europe and foreign affairs. In November 2001, Stephen was appointed Deputy Secretary for Education and young people. In the parliamentary elections held in May 2003, he defended his position for Aberdeen South, and was appointed after the election of the Secretary of State for Transport. From the cabinet reshuffle in June 2005 Stephen emerged as the Secretary of State for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. In addition, he was elected leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and Deputy First Minister as a result of Scotland. His parliamentary seat could defend Stephen in the 2007 parliamentary elections, but no higher then held parliamentary positions more. As party leader, he was replaced in June 2008 by Tavish Scott. At the 2011 parliamentary elections Stephen no longer went to.

House of Lords

On 2 February 2011 Stephen was raised as Baron Stephen of Lower Deeside in the City of Aberdeen as a life peer in the peerage, and introduced a new member of the House of Lords on 7 February. He took a seat on the bench of the Liberal Democrats. He announced to want to be involved in the reformation of the Upper House.