{{short description|British politician (born 1952)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Peter Peacock | honorific_suffix = | image =Peter Peacock.jpg | image_size = | caption = | constituency_MP = [[Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Highlands and Islands]]<br />{{nobold|(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)}} | parliament = Scottish | majority = | term_start = 6 May 1999 | term_end = 22 March 2011 | predecessor = | successor = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|02|27|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Edinburgh]], Scotland | death_date = | death_place = | birth_name = | party = [[Scottish Labour Party]] | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | website = }}
'''Peter James Peacock''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CBE}} (born 27 May 1952) is a Scottish politician who served as [[Minister for Education and Young People]] from 2003 to 2006. A member of the [[Scottish Labour Party]], he was a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Highlands and Islands]] region from [[1999 Scottish Parliament election|1999]] to [[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011]].
Peacock was convener of the [[Highland Regional Council]] from 1995 to 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/convener|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710165142/https://www.lexico.com/definition/convener|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 July 2020|title=Convener | Definition of Convener by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of Convener|website=Lexico Dictionaries | English}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/highland-battle-rages/91623.article|title=Highland battle rages|date=29 November 1996|website=Times Higher Education (THE)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4741508.stm|title=Peacock 'surprised' at exams move|date=23 February 2006|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> He served on the Board of [[Scottish Natural Heritage]] and was later influential in the decision to move the agency's headquarters to [[Inverness]].<ref>Crofts, Roger (2026), ''Scottish Natural Heritage: An Insider's View'', Tippermuir Books Limited, [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], pp. 49 & 56, {{isbn|9781913836559}}</ref>
Peacock was appointed a deputy minister when first elected at the [[1999 Scottish Parliament election]]. He was promoted to [[Minister for Education and Young People]] in the [[Scottish Executive]] after the [[2003 Scottish Parliament election|2003 election]].
Due to his position, Peacock was chosen to officially open the newly refurbished [[Morgan Academy]] in [[Dundee]], [[Scotland]], in August 2004; after the fire that destroyed the building in 2001. He resigned from his government post in November 2006 due to ill health.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 November 2006|title=UK | Scotland | Ill health forces minister's exit|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6146884.stm|access-date=23 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=14 November 2006|title=New education minister as Peacock resigns|work=[[The Scotsman]]|publisher=[[Johnston Press]]|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/new-education-minister-as-peacock-resigns-1-725290|accessdate=15 January 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{SP-MSP}}
{{S-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | title=[[Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning|Minister for Education and Young People]] | before=[[Cathy Jamieson]] | after=[[Hugh Henry]]| years=2003–2006}} {{succession box | title = [[Minister for Gaelic]] | years = 2003–2006 | before = [[Mike Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie|Mike Watson]] | after = [[Patricia Ferguson]] }}
{{s-new|office}} {{s-ttl | title=Deputy Minister for Finance and Local Government | years=2000–2003 }} {{s-aft | after=[[Tavish Scott]]}} {{s-new|office}} {{s-ttl | title=[[Minister for Children and Early Years|Deputy Minister for Children and Education]] | years=1999–2000 }} {{s-aft | after=[[Nicol Stephen]] | as= Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs }} {{s-end}}
{{Former Labour MSPs|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Peter}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Independent politicians in Scotland]] [[Category:Labour MSPs]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011]] [[Category:Land reform in Scotland]] [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Leaders of local authorities of Scotland]] [[Category:Scottish Labour councillors]]