It was an unexpected opportunity in social work that gave Douglas Sinclair his first experience of life in the public sector, and the start of an impressive career in local government which comes to an end this week when he retires as chief executive of Fife Council.

The former SOLACE (Scotland) chair left Edinburgh University in 1969, and he found himself unemployed. His wife, Mairi, who was training as a social worker at the time, spotted a newspaper advertisement for four graduate administrative assistants – new posts in a social work department that had been set up following the 1968 Social Work (Scotland) Act. The Midlothian, East Lothian and Peebles department had recruited, as its head, an officer called Maurice Speed, who had headed north from Cheshire. It was Mr Speed's idea that there should be graduate admin assistants for each of the authority's four offices.