Richard Lochhead
Encyclopedia
Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
and the Scottish National Party
Member
of the Scottish Parliament
for Moray
.
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
in Clarkston
and Central College of Commerce
in Glasgow
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
in the 1997 UK General Election
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
with their two young sons.
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Annabelle Ewing
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
and the Scottish National Party
Member
of the Scottish Parliament
for Moray
.
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
in Clarkston
and Central College of Commerce
in Glasgow
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
in the 1997 UK General Election
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
with their two young sons.
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Annabelle Ewing
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
and the Scottish National Party
Member
of the Scottish Parliament
for Moray
.
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
in Clarkston
and Central College of Commerce
in Glasgow
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
in the 1997 UK General Election
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
with their two young sons.
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Annabelle Ewing
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet responsible for the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The Cabinet Secretary responsibilities include agriculture, fisheries, environment as well as land reform and sustainable...
and the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
Member
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:...
of 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...
for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
.
Background and early career
A native of PaisleyPaisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School, located in Busby, East Renfrewshire, is a non denominational state school. It has a school roll of over 1600 pupils and was recently built, replacing the old school on Seres road in Williamwood...
in Clarkston
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
and Central College of Commerce
Central College of Commerce
Central College, formerly Central College of Commerce, was a college situated in the centre of Glasgow. It merged with Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in 2010 to form City of Glasgow College...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
Gordon (UK Parliament constituency)
Gordon is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which elects one member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in the 1997 UK General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
Aberdeen Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish Labour regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland, from 2011. He was MSP for the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 until 2011.-Background:...
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
with their two young sons.
Scottish Parliament
Lochhead was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election and re-elected at the 2003 election for the North East Scotland RegionNorth East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
North East Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
Margaret Ewing
Margaret Anne Ewing was a Scottish National Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament...
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician, lawyer and currently a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife...
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
Moray by-election, 2006
A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer...
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of 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...
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
Scottish Parliament election, 2011
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
External links
- Official website
- Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe 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...
) - Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish Government)
- SNP Profile
Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet responsible for the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The Cabinet Secretary responsibilities include agriculture, fisheries, environment as well as land reform and sustainable...
and the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
Member
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:...
of 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...
for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
.
Background and early career
A native of PaisleyPaisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School, located in Busby, East Renfrewshire, is a non denominational state school. It has a school roll of over 1600 pupils and was recently built, replacing the old school on Seres road in Williamwood...
in Clarkston
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
and Central College of Commerce
Central College of Commerce
Central College, formerly Central College of Commerce, was a college situated in the centre of Glasgow. It merged with Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in 2010 to form City of Glasgow College...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
Gordon (UK Parliament constituency)
Gordon is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which elects one member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in the 1997 UK General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
Aberdeen Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish Labour regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland, from 2011. He was MSP for the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 until 2011.-Background:...
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
with their two young sons.
Scottish Parliament
Lochhead was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election and re-elected at the 2003 election for the North East Scotland RegionNorth East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
North East Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
Margaret Ewing
Margaret Anne Ewing was a Scottish National Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament...
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician, lawyer and currently a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife...
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
Moray by-election, 2006
A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer...
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of 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...
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
Scottish Parliament election, 2011
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
External links
- Official website
- Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe 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...
) - Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish Government)
- SNP Profile
Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet responsible for the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The Cabinet Secretary responsibilities include agriculture, fisheries, environment as well as land reform and sustainable...
and the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
Member
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:...
of 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...
for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
.
Background and early career
A native of PaisleyPaisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Lochhead attended Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School
Williamwood High School, located in Busby, East Renfrewshire, is a non denominational state school. It has a school roll of over 1600 pupils and was recently built, replacing the old school on Seres road in Williamwood...
in Clarkston
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
and Central College of Commerce
Central College of Commerce
Central College, formerly Central College of Commerce, was a college situated in the centre of Glasgow. It merged with Glasgow Metropolitan College and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies in 2010 to form City of Glasgow College...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
before he graduated in politics from the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
. He worked for the SNP leader, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for Dundee City Council. He was the SNP candidate in Gordon
Gordon (UK Parliament constituency)
Gordon is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , which elects one member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in the 1997 UK General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central
Aberdeen Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Aberdeen Central is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election and is one of nine constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region...
constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald
Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish Labour regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland, from 2011. He was MSP for the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 until 2011.-Background:...
each time.
Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they live in Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
with their two young sons.
Scottish Parliament
Lochhead was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election and re-elected at the 2003 election for the North East Scotland RegionNorth East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
North East Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, following the announcement that Margaret Ewing
Margaret Ewing
Margaret Anne Ewing was a Scottish National Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament...
MSP would be retiring. He beat Margaret Ewing's sister-in-law, former MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician, lawyer and currently a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife...
in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election
Moray by-election, 2006
A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer...
. This was the first time since the second world war that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered.
He is a former convener of the European and External Relations Committee of 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...
. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
, Lochhead was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Fisheries. The related role for Minister for the Environment has been given to Michael Russell. In May 2007, he started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities.
Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election
Scottish Parliament election, 2011
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...
with a further increased majority of 10,944.
External links
- Official website
- Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish ParliamentScottish ParliamentThe 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...
) - Richard Lochhead MSP (Scottish Government)
- SNP Profile