Donald Dewar Statue

The sculpture of Donald Dewar (Scotland’s first First Minister), has been in position looking out over Buchanan Street, since it was erected in 2002.
Much like the clock in Central Station, the statue has become a well known local landmark as a place to meet friends, and more recently for impromptu political meetings/​rallies.
I seriously hope that Glasgow City Council rethink their plans to remove it (and the Royal Concert Hall steps, just behind it) during their expansion plans for Buchanan Galleries.

A great statue to commemorate the late Donald Dewar was the first minister of the Scottish parliament it is such a shame people often vandalise such a monument, he still has half is glasses missing.

Donald Dewar (1937 – 2000) was the First Minister of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999, which he helped to establish. This statue commemorates his life in politics after his untimely death; it was tragic that he died so soon after the Parliament came into being.
The Scottish sculptor Kenny Mackay was commissioned to create this 9ft high bronze statue which was cast by Powderhall Bronze and then placed here in Buchanan Street, opposite the Royal Concert Hall. It was unveiled in May 2002, by Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister.
Sadly, in October 2005, the statue had to be restored after vandalism resulted in damage to Dewar’s spectacles. It was returned before the end of the same year and placed on a tall pedestal of red granite, to hopefully deter vandals from climbing up to the statue. Unfortunately, this has not worked well enough because, at the time of my visit today, a broken sombrero was hanging around Dewar’s neck (which can be seen in my photo).

Politicians are very like artists people only start to like them and place vatue on them once they have snuffed it.
I think far more time should be taken over statues than happened with this one. really planning should make sure the staue will endure the weather and the neds.

Sadly, I would agree with the cynicism about this statue: Dewar was not as popular in office as he was after his death and this statue, which awkwardly combines Dewar’s bookish appearance with a classical aesthetic. The colour is just ugly, too, making this look a bit like one of those plastic toy soldiers from the 1980s.
There is a new Glasgow tradition emerging around this statue. Every few weeks, someone climbs up and breaks his glasses, as if the school bully has been at the architecture of the devolved parliament again. Apart from this, it is often the place for buskers in an early evening. Like the previous reviewer says, it is a place to meet, but not much else.

Considering statues are something that Glasgow usually does fairly well (see the Duke of Wellington and GoMA and host of others on George Square), the Donald Dewer statue is kind of terrible.
Although it’s nice to have a nod to our very first First Minister, and celebrate the Scottish Parliament, Donald Dewer frowning down at Buchanan Street from 5 feet probably wasn’t the best way to mark the occasion. It’s green hue is very strange and doesn’t exactly fit the aesthetic of the surrounding area; although I can see why they didn’t make it black.
In true Glasgow style, his glasses were smashed within the first few months after he camped up here on Buchanan Street.
As for round about, though, the steps of the concert hall are a good place to sit and have lunch on a sunny day in summer, and the statue is worth a look, but mostly the good man has become either an eye-​sore or a forgotten sculpture.

A claim to fame of mine is that I actually know the guy who nicked one of the first sets of glasses off old Donald not long after the statue was put up. Surprisingly enough, he’s actually now a lawyer despite his previous fondness for petty crime. The glasses themselves took pride of place on his living room table for some time.
The statue itself looks a bit like it’s made out of plasticine, a quality I’m not sure is deliberate, and to be honest most people seem to have forgotten who Donald Dewar was by now. His main achievement of setting up the Scottish Parliament hasn’t really made a great difference to the country at all, apart from giving the borderline racist SNP more power.
Despite this failing, Donald seemed pretty nice and genuine for a politician and I suppose the Scottish Parliament was at least in theory a workable idea. He’s still far more deserving of a statue than many of his expense-​fiddling peers.

Who is this man i hear you cry?! Well, this statue ladies and gentlemen is to commemorate the late Donald Dewar, Labour politician, Glasgowite and the inaugural first minister of the Scottish parliament.
Dewar, having taken the post as First Minister in 1999, was to die in October 2000 after a number of health complications. In 2002 then UK prime minister Tony Liar, sorry Blair, unveiled a statue of Dewar at the top of the cities Buchanan Street.
Known by some as the jolly green giant, no need for explanation is there?, the statue looks down the street and over the good folks of Glasgow in what i imagine is meant to symbolise his «father of our nation» title.
To be honest, when you ask most folk in the street, Dewar is and was at the time a peripheral figure within Scottish society. The «father of our nation» title owes as much to tabloid sensationalism as it does to the MP’s illusions of grandeur and the whole institution of backslapping.
My apologies if this review smacks of a little cynicism, i just feel that there are many great figures within Scottish society who have not even merited a foot note in the annals this nations history, let alone a statue and ridiculous title.
The Dewar Statue, meet me there at 8 and we’ll go for a pint…