Tavish Scott

Tavish Hamilton Scott MSP (born 6 May 1966) is a Scottish politician and MSP for Shetland. He was Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down after the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election, in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats, down from 16 in the previous parliament.

Background, education and early career

Scott was born on 6 May 1966 in Inverness, Scotland, he attended Anderson High School, Lerwick, Shetland and holds a BA (Hons) Business Studies from Napier College in Edinburgh. After graduating, he worked as a parliamentary assistant to Jim Wallace, then Lib Dem MP for Orkney and Shetland, and later 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.

Member of the 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.