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{{short description|British politician}}
{{about||the Scottish writer and minister|Alexander Robertson MacEwen|the British businessman in China|Alexander Palmer MacEwen|the Scottish footballer|Alexander McEwan (footballer)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sir Alexander MacEwen
| image = File:Mcewan.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| order1 = [[Scottish National Party|Leader of the Scottish National Party]]
| term_start1 = 7 April 1934
| term_end1 = 1936
| predecessor1 = New office
| successor1 = [[Andrew Dewar Gibb]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1875|1|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age |df=yes|1941|6|29|1875|1|10}}
| death_place = [[North Kessock]], [[Ross and Cromarty]], [[Scotland]], [[UK]]
| spouse = Mary Henderson (m. 1906–1941)
| children = 5
| party = [[Scottish National Party]] (1934–1941)
| otherparty = [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] [[Scottish Party]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Edinburgh]]
| profession = [[Solicitor]]
}}

'''Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen''' (10 January 1875 – 29 June 1941)<ref name="Am Baille">{{cite web |url=http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=73140 |title=Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen |publisher=Am Baille |accessdate=16 May 2015 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006160642/http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/item/item_illustration.jsp?item_id=73140 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[solicitor]], [[Provost (civil)|provost]] and the first leader of the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP).

==Early life==
MacEwen was born in [[Calcutta]], [[India]], the son of Robert Sutherland Taylor MacEwen (1839-1900), a [[barrister]] from [[Dornoch]] who served in India as the [[Recorder (judge)|Recorder]] of [[Rangoon]].<ref name="scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=http://www.scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk/imageDetail.aspx?ID=10701|title=Scottish Highland Photo Archive - Image Detail|website=scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk}}</ref> Alexander MacEwen was educated at [[Clifton College]], [[Bristol]]<ref>"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p159: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948</ref> and the [[University of Edinburgh]]. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1901, he began his legal career in [[Stornoway]], before joining the [[Inverness]] legal firm of Stewart Rule & Co., where he later became senior partner.<ref name="Am Baille" />

==Political career==
A member of the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]], MacEwen was elected to Inverness Town Council in 1908, and served as [[List of Provosts of Inverness|Provost of Inverness]] 1925–1931. During his period in office, Provost MacEwen promoted schemes for the improvement of public health and housing in Inverness, and served as a member of the Inverness-shire Education Committee, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Northern Infirmary. He also served as a councillor on [[Inverness County Council]], representing [[Benbecula]].<ref name="scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk"/>

He was Chief of the Gaelic Society in 1930.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gsi.org.uk/history-2|title=History 2|website=Gaelic Society of Inverness}}</ref>

In 1932 MacEwen was one of the founders of the [[Scottish Party]], and in the [[1933 Kilmarnock by-election]] he stood as the joint candidate of the Scottish Party and the [[National Party of Scotland]], coming fourth with 6,098 votes.<ref name="Herald 3Nov1933">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=c6JAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i6UMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5777%2C447721 |title=Kilmarnock By-election Result. National Government Success. Mr Lindsay's majority over Labour candidate. Scottish National Champion Last |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |date=3 November 1933 |page=11 |accessdate=26 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="Scotsman 6Apr2009">{{cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/letters/focus-plus-ca-change-snp-and-rest-us-2467126 |title=Focus: Plus ça change… for SNP and the rest of us |work=The Scotsman|date=6 April 2009 |accessdate=10 June 2015}}</ref>

With merger of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party on 7 April 1934 to form the Scottish National Party, MacEwen became the new party's first leader.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sMpAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5004%2C1105135 |title=Union of Scots Parties. Opening Conference in Glasgow. New officials elected |work=[[The Glasgow Herald]] |date=9 April 1934 |page=14 |accessdate=25 April 2017}}</ref> The party's performance in the [[1935 United Kingdom general election|1935 general election]] was disappointing with only [[Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)|Inverness]] and MacEwan in the [[Western Isles (UK Parliament constituency)|Western Isles]] achieving respectable results.

MacEwen stood down as leader of the SNP in 1936, when he was succeeded by [[Andrew Dewar Gibb]]. He died at his home on the [[Black Isle]] in 1941, aged 66. MacEwen had three sons and two daughters. His son [[Malcolm MacEwen|Malcolm]] joined the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] and became a prominent conservationist.<ref name="Herald obituary" />

==Honours==
He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] in the [[1932 Birthday Honours]] for services to local government and public health in Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/14866/page/446 |title=Knighthood |work=The Edinburgh Gazette |date=3 June 1932 |issue=14866 |page=446 |accessdate=8 July 2016}}</ref> MacEwen Drive in [[Inverness]] is named after him.<ref name="Herald obituary">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FT5AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5573%2C6139748 |title=Obituary: Alexander MacEwen. Advocate of Scottish Self-Government |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=30 June 1941 |page=6 |accessdate=16 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="Am Baille" />

==Publications==
*''The Thistle and the Rose - Scotlands Problem To-Day'', 1932
*''Scotland at School - Education for Citizenship'', 1938
*''Towards Freedom'', 1938

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-new | party }}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Scottish National Party|Chairman (Leader) of the Scottish National Party]]
| years = 1934–1936
}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Andrew Dewar Gibb]] }}
{{s-end}}

{{SNP}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macewan, Alexander}}
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Scottish National Party]]
[[Category:People educated at Clifton College]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Provosts in Scotland]]
[[Category:Scottish Liberal Party councillors]]
[[Category:Members of Inverness County Council]]

Alexander MacEwen - Revision history

->Santiago Claudio: replaced dead link