Thomson attended Aberdeen Grammar School and gained an Master of Arts (honours) in psychology from the University of Aberdeen in 1955, later joining the British Psychological Society. He attended national service in the Gordon Highlanders between 1955 and 1957. He also received an Master of Letters in 2009, writing his thesis on the contribution made by the Scottish Constitutional Convention to the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament.
He was a Knight of the Order of Street John and a Deputy Lieutenant of the City of Aberdeen until August 2007. He was an avid skier and hill-walker. Between 1960 and 1988, Thomson and his family owned a series of well-known car dealerships throughout the North East of Scotland, known as Thomson of Cults.
He was an elected local councillor on Aberdeen District Council, later becoming the first Liberal Leader of the Council.
He also acted as the election agent for Malcolm Bruce Member of Parliament in the Gordon constituency in 1979 and 1983. He was also active within the Party nationally, serving as both Chairman and later President of the Party, presiding over the Party during the 1999 Scottish Parliament elections and its entry into Government for the first time since the wartime coalition under Winston Churchill.
At the time of his death, he was (for the second time) serving as Scotland"s representative on the Party"s United Kingdom-wide Executive Committee. Former Chairman of Scottish Ballet (1983–1987)
Former Member, the Broadcasting Council for Scotland
Former President of the Rotary Club of Aberdeen
Former Marketing Director of Aberdeen International Youth Festival
Former Chairman of Aberdeen International Children"s Festival (aka Kaleidoscope)
President of Mental Health Aberdeen
Chairman, Friends of Aberdeen University Library.
Thomson was a long-standing and senior member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and, before that, the Scottish Liberal Party.
