Annabelle Ewing

Annabelle Ewing
MSP
Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
Assumed office
18 May 2016
Minister for Youth and Women's Employment
In office
21 November 2014 – 18 May 2016
Preceded by Angela Constance (as Minister for Youth Employment until 22 April 2014)
Succeeded by Jamie Hepburn (as Minister for Employability and Training)
Deputy Convener of the
Scottish Parliament
Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee
In office
15 June 2011 – 21 November 2014
Preceded by John Scott (as Deputy Convener of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Cowdenbeath
Assumed office
6 May 2016
Preceded by Alex Rowley
Majority 3,041
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Mid Scotland and Fife
In office
5 May 2011 – 23 March 2016
Member of Parliament
for Perth
In office
7 June 2001 – 11 April 2005
Preceded by Roseanna Cunningham
Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1960-08-20) 20 August 1960
Political party Scottish National Party
Alma mater University of Glasgow
Profession Lawyer
Website Official website

Annabelle Janet Ewing[1] (born 20 August 1960) is a Scottish politician, lawyer and Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs in the Scottish Government. She is the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region. She was formerly the Minister for Youth and Women's Employment 2014−16. She is a former Member of Parliament for Perth 2001−05.

Background

She attended the Craigholme School for Girls in Glasgow and the University of Glasgow, where she graduated with a law degree.

Before becoming an MP, Annabelle Ewing was an European Community competition lawyer in Brussels and ran a small legal practice.

She lives in Perthshire, and is a member of what is perhaps Scottish politics' best-known 'clan'. Her mother is former SNP President, Winnie Ewing, who in the past was a member of three different parliaments — Westminster, the Scottish Parliament and the European Parliament. She is sister to MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) Fergus Ewing, and sister-in-law to the late Margaret Ewing, who was also an MSP and a former Westminster MP.

Ewing is a member of both Shelter and Amnesty International. She has been involved in a number of Parliamentary campaigns, including fighting for the rights of Hepatitis C sufferers, and working to gain a public enquiry into the events at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, where James Collinson, a constituent, died on 23 March 2002.

Parliamentarian

Ewing first stood for Parliament, unsuccessfully, in a by-election for Hamilton South in 1999, where she was beaten by Labour's Bill Tynan.

She was elected to the UK Parliament, winning Roseanna Cunningham's old seat in 2001, defeating the Conservative candidate by just 48 votes,[2] giving her the slimmest majority in Scotland. In the 2005 election, following a radical boundary revision, she contested the new constituency of Ochil and South Perthshire, but lost it to the Labour party candidate, Gordon Banks.

She sought to become SNP candidate for Moray in the 27 April 2006 Scottish Parliament by-election to succeed her late sister-in-law, Margaret Ewing, but was defeated by North East Scotland MSP Richard Lochhead[3] who went on to win the seat in the by-election.

She was later selected to contest the Falkirk East seat in the 2007 election on behalf of the SNP as a replacement for the previously selected candidate, the late Douglas Henderson. On 3 May 2007 she achieved a 9% swing from Labour to the SNP in Falkirk East, however this was not enough to displace the incumbent Cathy Peattie.

She contested Ochil and South Perthshire for a second time at the 2010 election, failing again to take it from Gordon Banks, this time on an increased (4%) swing away from the SNP to Labour. At the 2011 election Ewing was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Mid Scotland and Fife region.

She is famed due to an incident that occurred on 16 December 2004, whereby the Deputy Speaker removed her from the House as she refused to apologise for calling the then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon a "back-stabbing coward"[4] during exchanges over Geoff Hoon's plans to merge Scottish Regiments, including the Black Watch.[5]

She was promoted to the Scottish Government on 21 November 2014 in Nicola Sturgeon's first reshuffle. She becomes Minister for Youth and Women's Employment.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U42274/
  2. ↑ "Annabelle Ewing". BBC News. 10 February 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Salmond closer to Holyrood return". BBC News. 2006-01-04. Retrieved 2006-03-22.
  4. ↑ "Commons Debate: Future Infantry Structure". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 16 December 2004.
  5. ↑ "MP thrown out of House of Commons". BBC News. 16 December 2004.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Roseanna Cunningham		 Member of Parliament for Perth
2001–2005 		Constituency abolished
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