Dundee Lord Provost Ian Borthwick led the tributes to his predecessor Mervyn Rolfe, who has died at the age of 71.
Mr Rolfe, who was lord provost and lord lieutenant of Dundee between 1996 and 1999, held a number of posts in local government and was deputy leader of both Tayside Regional Council and Dundee City Council.
During his tenure as lord provost he chaired the City of Discovery campaign and launched the Dundee International Book Prize.
Mr Borthwick said: “Mervyn served the city with distinction as a councillor and as lord provost.
“His primary interest was education and he, along with his wife Chris who had similar interests, pursued the objective of improving the standard of education in our schools.
“As a constituency member he was assiduous in pursuing constituency matters.”
Mr Borthwick added: “While I didn’t always see eye-to-eye with him there was a mutual respect.
“He pursued the interests of the city with rigour and achieved a significant degree of success.”
Mr Rolfe also acted as chief executive of Dundee and Tayside Chamber of Commerce until its collapse in 2006 and was a former chairman of the Scottish Police Services Authority.
He won the Scottish Marketing Awards Grand Prix in 1999 for his work promoting Dundee.
Merv Rolfe was a great friend to every Dundonian whether they knew it or not. He fought so hard for our city. He carried his long illness with good humour and without bitterness. Irascible in the face of injustice everywhere. Will miss him greatly. RIP.
— Michael Marra (@michaeljmarra) February 28, 2019
I am deeply saddened and upset to hear that one of Dundee’s greatest sons has gone. Mervyn Rolfe our former Lord Provost and a wonderful Labour politician who did so much for the culture and heritage of Dundee. A remarkable man who will be sorely missed x
— Mike Dailly (@mikedailly) February 28, 2019
He stood as Labour’s candidate in the Perth and Kinross constituency in the 1992 general election.
Mr Rolfe was also a member of Angus and Dundee Tourist Board, Tayside Business Gateway and was chairman of the Tay Road Bridge joint board from 1996 to 1999.
He was awarded the CBE for services to local government in 2000.
He also founded the Dundee United supporters’ organisation the ArabTrust and lectured in economics at Abertay University.
Abertay University secretary Sheena Stewart said: “Mervyn was a great friend to the university and, as an honorary fellow and contributor to our students’ education, remained a dedicated member of the Abertay community.
“As lord provost, he had a significant impact on Dundee and this rightly led to him becoming a widely respected figure in the city.
“Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
Predeceased by his wife Chris, Mr Rolfe is survived by his son Gregor and two grandchildren.
