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Tavish Scott MSP
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 26 August 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Nicol Stephen |
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| In office 23 June 2005 – 17 May 2007 |
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| First Minister | Jack McConnell |
| Preceded by | Nicol Stephen |
| Succeeded by | Stewart Stevenson |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 1999 |
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| Majority | 4,409 (50.1%) |
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| Born | 6 May 1966 |
| Political party | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Alma mater | Napier College, Edinburgh |
Tavish Scott (born 6 May 1966) is a Scottish politician and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, having been elected on 26 August 2008 with 59% (1,450) of the votes.[1]
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Background
Tavish Scott attended Anderson High School, Lerwick, Shetland and holds a BA from Napier College, Edinburgh (now Napier University). After graduating, he worked as a parliamentary assistant to Jim Wallace, then Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland, and then as a Press Officer for the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He then returned to Shetland and became a farmer and also a councillor on Shetland Islands Council and Chairman of the Lerwick Harbour Trust. He is married with three children.[2]
Scottish Parliament
Scott was elected the first Member of the Scottish Parliament for Shetland in May 1999. He was also the first parliamentarian for the Shetland Islands as a distinct entity; up to that point there had only been a single UK parliamentary constituency for both Orkney and Shetland.
He served as a Deputy Minister for Parliament in the Scottish Executive from 2000 to 2001 in succession to his colleague Iain Smith, but resigned after refusing to support the Executive in a vote in the Parliament on a tie-up scheme for fishing. In 2003 he returned to the Scottish Executive as Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services. During his time there his department piloted the Local Governance (Scotland) Act, which changed the elections for local authorities in Scotland to a proportional representation system. Following Nicol Stephen's election as party leader and succession as Deputy First Minister of Scotland in 2005, Scott was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Transport.
He was re-elected with an increased majority in May 2007,[3] and held the largest margin by percentage, 50.1%, of any MSP over their closest challenger.
Leadership candidate
After the resignation of his friend and former Ministerial colleague Nicol Stephen, Scott declared his candidacy for the leadership of the Scottish Liberal Democrats on 7 July 2008 at Lerwick harbour, surrounded by a group of men dressed as Vikings which is a tradition in Shetland called Up Helly Aa where Shetlanders celebrate their Viking heritage.[4] On 26 August 2008, he was announced the winner of the leadership contest with 59% of the votes.
References
| Scottish Parliament | ||
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| Preceded by Constituency Created |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Shetland 1999–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nicol Stephen |
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats 2008–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nicol Stephen |
Minister for Transport and Telecommunications 2005–2007 |
Succeeded by Stewart Stevenson as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change |
| Preceded by Peter Peacock |
Deputy Minister for Finance 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Iain Smith |
Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business 2000–2001 |
Succeeded by Euan Robson |
External links
- Tavish Scott MSP official site
- Tavish Scott MSP official biography at the Scottish Parliament website
- Tavish Scott MSP profile at the site of Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Scottish Executive
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