Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone MSP
Alison was elected to the role of Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament in May 2021. In this role Alison chairs the Parliamentary Bureau and the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body.
Alison has represented Lothian region in the Scottish Parliament since 2011 and prior to that was a City of Edinburgh Councillor 2007-2012. As an MSP and Councillor Alison campaigned on issues of environmental justice, health and wellbeing, sport, equality human rights and animal welfare.
Shona Robison, Deputy First Minister
Shona Robison was appointed Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance in March 2023.
Shona was born in Redcar in 1966. Educated at Alva Academy, she went on to graduate from Glasgow University with a Social Sciences MA and Jordanhill College with a Postgraduate Certificate in Community Education. Previously she worked for Glasgow City Council's Social Work Department.
Shona was MSP for the North East from 1999 to 2003 and elected MSP for Dundee East in 2003. Latterly, she was Shadow Minster for Health and Social Justice and a member of the Parliament's Health Committee before being appointed Minister for Public Health in the Scottish Government after the May 2007 election.
She was re-elected in May 2011 and appointed Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, and was made Cabinet Secretary for Health in November 2014. She was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport in May 2016, and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government in May 2021.
Claire Baker MSP
Claire Baker is a Scottish Labour Party and Scottish Co-operative Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife, first elected in 2007. She is Labour’s Shadow Minister for Drugs Policy, Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Economy and Fair Work Committee and a Member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.
Claire has previously been Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment and Shadow Minister for Education.
Prior to being elected for the Mid Scotland and Fife region in May 2007, Claire Baker worked in a variety of research and policy posts. This included working as a Research Officer for the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Group, Research Officer for the trade union Amicus and a similar role for the Royal College of Nursing.
Immediately prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament, she was Policy Manager for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the umbrella body for charities and community and voluntary organisations in Scotland.
Dr Hina Khan, Executive Director of Space Scotland
Biography to follow.