WARM tributes have been paid to politician and neurosurgeon Sam Galbraith of Greenock, who died on Monday at the age of 68.

The former Greenock High pupil was a brilliant brain surgeon and then moved into politics, becoming one of the founding members of the Scottish Parliament.

He was elected Labour MP and then MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden in Glasgow, and is believed to have been one of the world’s longest-surviving lung transplant patients.

A mountaineer, he was given only a few years to live when he received a pioneering transplant in 1990 after being diagnosed with chronic stiffening and hardening of the lungs.

Mr Galbraith, left, was a Scottish Office Minister in Tony Blair’s first Labour Government, and at the Scottish Parliament he was Minister for Children and Education and then Environment Minister.

Born in Lancashire, he grew up in Braeside and graduated from Glasgow University.

Mr Galbraith was described today as an inspirational figure by friend and colleague of many years, Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Duncan McNeil, who said: “Sam was an ‘unspun’ politician who told it like it was.

“His life experiences influenced his politics. He was Labour through and through from a working class community and never tried to change his accent. He was at home with people from every level.” Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that, for Mr Galbraith, politics was about service to the people.

Mr Brown said: “He was a great surgeon, a great statesman and a great family man who will be sorely missed.

“Our thoughts are with his wife, Nicola, and daughters Mhairi, Heather and Fiona.” Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: “Sam was a wonderful man, a great doctor, an inspiring colleague and dedicated family man.” Tributes were also paid by Mr Galbraith’s political opponents.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Sam Galbraith was a devoted and gifted politician whose commitment to improving the lives of others never wavered.” And Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, added: “Sam Galbraith was a good public servant and an honest, decent man.”