Alan Mackinnon, MBChB, MSc, was a former family doctor and a dedicated political activist since his early twenties. He was one of the most highly regarded political activists in left wing politics in Scotland.
He joined the Communist Party in 1968 as a student and became a committed political activist on a wide range of Domestic and Global issues.
He graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1971 with MBChB and went on to work in General Practice. After working in Tanzania for a year, he spent the next 35 years working in Baillieston in the east end of Glasgow. During his career as a GP he graduated with an MSc (Sports Medicine), and on his retirement, completed a course in Tropical Medicine at the University of Liverpool.
In 1979 he also became active in the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which would become a lifelong passion. In addition to raising a family, much of his free time in the 80s and 90s revolved around campaigns such as the Miner’s Strikes, opposition to the Poll Tax and the Gulf War.
Alan was highly regarded within Scottish CND and has held various positions over many years including two spells of Chairman. Following the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001 he also became Chair of the Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War.
Up until his death in 2015 he was Secretary of Scottish CND and a member of the British CND council.
In 2012 he worked in Sierra Leone with MSF – Doctors Without Borders- for a number of months, writing a monthly blog on his experiences. He is the current editor of Scottish CND’s house magazine Nuclear Free Scotland and has written a number of articles and pamphlets that are available to access on this site.