Thanksgiving service for former health secretary Jeane Freeman

A service of thanksgiving is to be held for Jeane Freeman, the former Scottish government health secretary who died last month after a short illness.

The public ceremony, which will be streamed online, will take place at the University of Glasgow on Saturday, following a private cremation attended by close friends and family.

Born and raised in Ayr, Freeman had a long career in the health and social justice sectors before moving into politics, playing a pivotal role during the Covid pandemic.

She was 72 when she died on 7 February, just 25 days after being diagnosed with cancer.

While the cremation will be strictly private, Freeman's partner of 25 years, Susan Stewart, said the thanksgiving service would be open to all who wish to pay their respects.

The service is being held at the university's Bute Hall, starting at 13:30, and donations in her memory can be made to the Beatson Cancer Charity.

Freeman began her career as a nurse and went on to found Apex Scotland, a charity to support the rehabilitation of offenders, which earned her an OBE for services to social justice in 1996.

She served as a special adviser to Labour first minister Jack McConnell but later became a supporter of Scottish independence, eventually joining the SNP and becoming an MSP in 2016 at the age of 62.

Her first ministerial appointment under Nicola Sturgeon saw her help establish Social Security Scotland and then, as health secretary from 2018, onwards she played a leading role in Scotland's response to Covid.

She also ordered the public inquiry into the design, construction, commissioning and maintenance of hospitals in Glasgow and Edinburgh following concerns about patient safety.

After retiring from frontline politics in 2021 she enjoyed volunteering at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow, taking round the tea trolley and talking to patients undergoing treatment.

She had planned to begin this year with a holiday of a lifetime trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with her partner, but worsening asthma forced her to cancel and in January she was given the news that she had inoperable cancer.

Earlier this week politicians shared their own memories of Freeman when John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon led tributes to her during a motion of condolence at the Scottish Parliament.

Sturgeon said the hallmarks of her character were principle, compassion and friendship - and told how she would not have coped with the pressures of the pandemic without Freeman by her side.

"There would be times, just before stepping onto the podium, when I would feel overwhelmed by the grimness of the update I was about to give," she said.

"And in these moments, Jeane would often just lightly touch my arm and say something simple like, you can do this. That got me through."

Susan Stewart and members of Freeman's family watched proceedings from the public gallery as tributes were paid from across the political spectrum.