Christopher Harvie

Christopher Harvie ( born September 12, 1944 in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire ) is a Scottish historian and politician of the Scottish National Party and was between 2007 and 2011 Member of the Parliament of Scotland for the election Region Mid Scotland and Fife.

Harvie grew up on the border with England at St Boswells. He attended school in Kelso and Edinburgh. In the Scottish capital, he then studied history at the University of Edinburgh where he acquired the 1966 MA with distinction ( " First Class Honours ") and in 1972 a doctorate (PhD) with a dissertation on liberalism and democracy in the years 1880-1886.

Academic career

From 1969 on, he was a lecturer in the newly founded Open University. In 1980 he was called to Germany, at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, for the chair of the British and Irish Studies. He held more than 25 years this professorship until his move in the politics of his Scottish homeland.

Harvie were also awarded honorary professorships at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Policy

Harvie was from 1969 to 1988 member of the British Labour Party. Between 2007 and 2011 Harvie was a list of SNP candidate for the constituency Mid Scotland and Fife as an MP in the Scottish Parliament.

Work

Harvie writes primarily about the history of Scotland, particularly the Scottish nationalism. But he also has books on North Sea oil, the political novel written in the UK and the regionalization of Europe.