Fergus Ewing

Fergus Stewart Ewing (born 23 September 1957) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism from 2016 to 2021, having previously held two junior ministerial posts. Since his return to the backbenches Ewing has been a perennial rebel in the Scottish Parliament, frequently voting against the SNP whip and voicing discontent with government policy. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, representing Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber until 2011, and then its successor seat Inverness and Nairn. In 2025, he announced that he would stand against the SNP in the constituency as an independent candidate in the 2026 Scottish parliament election.

Born in Glasgow, Ewing attended Loretto School in Musselburgh. He graduated from the University of Glasgow with an LLB and worked as a solicitor in the two decades prior to becoming an MSP. In the first election to the Scottish Parliament, which took place in 1999, both his wife, Margaret Ewing, and mother, Winnie Ewing, were elected to the parliament alongside him. In 2011, his sister Annabelle Ewing became an MSP too. Following the SNP victory in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election Ewing held a series of posts in government until his departure in 2021. Since then he has been a vocal critic of government policy and was particularly opposed to the SNP's cooperation agreement with the Scottish Greens. And, in 2025, declared his candidacy for the 2026 Holyrood election as an independent candidate.