Rhona Brankin is a former Labour Co-operative

Labour Co-operative

Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....

 Member of the Scottish Parliament

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...

 for the Midlothian

Midlothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Midlothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

 constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. She was one of six female Labour MSPs to stand down in 2011.

Background

Brankin is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen

University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...

 and before entering the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 she was a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 and a lecturer on special educational needs. She was former Chair of the Scottish Labour Party

Scottish Labour Party

The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....

. She is married with two grown-up daughters.

Scottish Parliament

Brankin was Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport in the Scottish Executive

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...

 from 1999-2000 and Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development from 2000-2001. In October 2004 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and Community care, returning to the Environment and Rural Development portfolio in June 2005. In January 2007 she was promoted to Minister for Communities after the resignation of Malcolm Chisholm

Malcolm Chisholm

Malcolm Chisholm is a Scottish Labour Party politician, and a former Scottish Executive minister.-Background:Chisholm was educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh and became an English teacher. He is married with three children...

. Following Labour's defeat at the hands of the SNP at the May 2007 election, Brankin became shadow Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning.

Prior to the 2011 elections, Brankin announced her decision not to stand for re-election, retiring from Holyrood after 12 years. The Midlothian constituency underwent boundary changes, and the two new constituencies created, Midlothian North and Musselburgh, and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, were won by the SNP.

Career timeline

Education

• Jordanhill College School, Glasgow
• Aberdeen University, BEd , History/Politics Studies, graduated 1975; Additional Teaching qualification in Primary, obtained 1982
• Moray House College of Education, Edinburgh; DipSE (Special Educational Needs), obtained 1989

Career

• 1975-1977: Teacher, Dingwall Primary School
• 1983-1984: Learning Support Teacher, Invergordon Academy
• 1984-1988: Teacher, South Lodge Primary School, Invergordon
• 1988-1990: Senior Teacher Learning Support, Alness Academy
  Alness Academy
  Alness Academy is a high school located in Alness, Highland in the north on the Cromarty Firth of Scotland.Built in 1970s, it is one of the main schools in Ross-Shire, with around about 600 pupils all in. Has a rugby, football and hockey team....
  
  
• 1990-1994: Principal Teacher Learning Support, Inverness High School
  Inverness High School
  Inverness High School is a secondary school on Montague Row in Inverness, Scotland.-Admissions:From a peak of over 1,600 pupils, the school's current roll is around 450. Its feeders are Central, Dalneigh, Bishop Eden's, St Joseph's and Merkinch Primary Schools...
  
  
• 1994-1999: Lecturer in Special Education Needs, Northern College
  Northern College
  Northern College is a college of applied arts and technology in Northern Ontario. The College's catchment area extends across . More than 65 communities within Northeastern Ontario are served by four campuses located in Timmins , Kirkland Lake, Moosonee, and Haileybury. Annual enrolment is...
  
  , Dundee

1999-2011: MSP for Midlothian

Midlothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Midlothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

• 1999-2000: Deputy Minister for Culture and Sport
• 2000-2001: Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development
• 2004-2005: Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care
• 2005-2007: Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Development
• 2007-2007: Minister for Communities
• 2007-2008: Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
• 2008-2009: Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning