Lord Elder: tributes to Kirkcaldy born politician who has died aged 73

The Labour politician, who was former chief of staff to leader John Smith, and Donald Dewar in his time as Secretary of State for Scotland, was made a life peer in 1999.

Lord Elder was educated at Kirkcaldy High School and graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master of Arts in economic history. He worked for the Bank of England before moving into the world of politics. He was general secretary of the Scottish Labour Party and a member of the executive of the Scottish Constitutional Convention.

In 1988 he underwent a heart transplant when he was just days from dying, and he went on to become one of the world’s longest surviving patients. His return to good health saw him complete climbing all of Scotland’s Munros. He completed all 284 in 2007, scaling the 3196ft summit of Beinn Sgritheall, near Arnisdale in Kintail with his friends and John Dark, the surgeon who performed the life-saving operation 18 years earlier.

Lord Elder was one of only three members of the UK parliament to join the exclusive club of those who have completed the Munro challenge.

Gordon Brown, former Kirkcaldy MP and Prime Minister, paid tribute to his lifelong friend who he first met at KHS.

He said: “One of the world's longest surviving heart transplant patients, his life was a study in personal courage and great achievement against many odds.