Andrew Dewar Gibb was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 and professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

.

Born in Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, Gibb studied at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

. He was appointed to the English bar in 1917 before serving in the Royal Scots Fusiliers

Royal Scots Fusiliers

-The Earl of Mar's Regiment of Foot :The regiment was raised in Scotland in 1678 by Stuart loyalist Charles Erskine, de jure 5th Earl of Mar for service against the rebel covenanting forces during the Second Whig Revolt . They were used to keep the peace and put down brigands, mercenaries, and...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. After the war, he practised law in England and was a visiting lecturer

Lecturer

Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

 at the University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 and the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. He also wrote articles and textbooks on legal topics.

During the 1920s, Gibb was an active Unionist Party politician and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament. However, in the 1930s he became a Scottish nationalist and was a founder member of the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 (SNP). In 1934, he was appointed Regius Professor of Law at the University of Glasgow, and from 1937 to 1939 and 1945 to 1947 was Dean of the University's Law Faculty.

Gibb became the leader of the SNP in 1936, serving until 1940. He stood for the party in the Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936

Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936

The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1936 was a by-election held from 27 January to 31 January 1936 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...

, taking 31.1% of the vote and second place in the poll, but was less successful at the 1938 by-election

Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938

The Combined Scottish Universities by-election, 1938 was a by-election held from 21 February to 25 February 1938 for the Combined Scottish Universities, a university constituency of the British House of Commons.- Vacancy :...

, his share falling to 18.2%.

In 1947, Gibb became a King's Counsel, and from 1955 to 1957 he was the Chairman of the Saltire Society

Saltire Society

The Saltire Society was established in 1936 to encourage everything that might improve the quality of life in Scotland and restore the country to its proper place as a creative force in European civilisation....

. He retired from his professorship in 1958.