Allan Stewart (born 1 June 1942), is a former Scottish Conservative politician.

Educated at Bell Baxter High School

Bell Baxter High School

Bell Baxter High School is a non-denominational comprehensive state school for 11-18 year olds in Cupar, Fife, Scotland.-School history:Bell Baxter High School was descended from the Cupar Grammar School and was founded in 1889 when the Madras Academy combined with the Sir David Baxter's Institute...

, St. Andrews University and Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, where he obtained a first class degree, he was a lecturer in Political Economy

Political economy

Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...

 at St. Andrews before unsuccessfully standing for the Dundee East

Dundee East (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:-Elections in the 1950s:...

 constituency in 1970. He was briefly a councillor

Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...

 in the London Borough of Bromley

London Borough of Bromley

The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...

 in the mid-1970s. He was elected MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)

East Renfrewshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....

 in 1979

United Kingdom general election, 1979

The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...

 and continued as MP in its successor Eastwood

Eastwood (UK Parliament constituency)

Eastwood was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...

 from 1983 until 1997. He served two spells as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland...

 at the Scottish Office

Scottish Office

The Scottish Office was a department of the United Kingdom Government from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland...

 from 1981 to 1986, and from 1990 to 1995.

He was forced to resign his ministerial post after an incident in February 1995 when he brandished a pickaxe at demonstrators who were protesting at the construction of the M77 motorway

M77 motorway

The M77 motorway is a motorway in Scotland. It originally began in southern Glasgow at the M8 motorway at Kinning park, and terminates near Kilmarnock at the village of Fenwick. However, changes were made in autumn 2005 segregating a lane on the M8 motorway almost as far as the Kingston Bridge,...

. Stewart was hospitalised after suffering a nervous breakdown

Nervous breakdown

Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...

in March 1997. He stood down, not seeking re-election to Parliament in the General Election held on 1 May that year, and retired from politics altogether.