Cathie Craigie (born 14 April 1954) is a former

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

politician who served as

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Early life and career

Craigie was born in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

on 14 April 1954. She was a district councillor of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth from 1984 to 1994 and district leader from 1994 to 1996. She served as a

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

councillor between 1996 and 1999.

Parliamentary career

Craigie was first elected to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

at the 1999 election. She was re-elected to represent the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

with a majority of 520 votes and in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

with an increased majority of 2,079. However, at the 2011 election, she lost her seat to Jamie Hepburn of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP) by 3,459 votes. Craigie was a member of the Justice Committee and the Petitions Committee in the Scottish Parliament. She was the first woman to successfully steer a Member's Bill, The Mortgage Rights (Scotland) Act, which provides greater protection for those facing repossession, through the parliament. Craigie was also the convenor of the Cross-Party group on Deafness, and was in the process of steering a British Sign Language Bill through the Scottish Parliament before losing her seat.

References

External links

*
Cathie Craigie MSP
Personal website
Cathie Cragie MSP
Biography at Labour party website. 1954 births Living people People from Stirling Labour MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Female members of the Scottish Parliament 20th-century Scottish women politicians Scottish Labour councillors Leaders of local authorities of Scotland Women councillors in Scotland {{MSP-stub