Clare Anne Adamson FBCS (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Pickering; born 1 August 1967) is a Scottish politician who has been the

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The add ...

(MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw since 2016. A member of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP), she was previously an additional MSP for the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016. A graduate of the

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

, before entering politics Adamson was a

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus ( ...

. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, she was elected to the North Lanarkshire Council for the

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it form ...

ward. She ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency, but was elected as an additional member for the Central Scotland region in 2011. Adamson was elected as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw in 2016 and was re-elected for a third term in the 2021 election. She has since served as the Convener of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...

's Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

Early life and career

Clare Anne Pickering was born on 1 August 1967 in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

, to Eileen and George Pickering. She moved to grow up in Wishaw at the age of seven and she studied

Computer Information Systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people ...

, graduating with the degree of BSc ( with distinction). In 1984 Adamson joined the

and she worked at the SNP HQ Campaign Unit as Project Manager of the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

's ''Activate Project'' from 2003 to 2007. She was previously a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an Development Manager ( IT) at a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

-based software house. She belongs to the National Union of Journalists and is a Fellow of the British Computer Society. Adamson ran as a candidate for the SNP in various elections, but was unsuccessful. She ran for election to the North Lanarkshire Council in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

and contested Lanark & Hamilton East in the

2010 UK General Election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom un ...

. In the 2007 Scottish local elections, she was elected to the North Lanarkshire Council, representing her home town of the Wishaw ward. She stood down from the council in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

following her election to the

Member of the Scottish Parliament

In the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament 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 Additional M ...

, Adamson was the SNP's candidate for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. She was defeated by

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

's John Pentland and was elected as an additional member of the

for the Central Scotland region. After being elected to the parliament, she served as the Parliamentary Liaison Officer to

Culture Secretary The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department f ...

Fiona Hyslop. Adamson has continued to be actively involved with the Scottish Accident Prevention Council, as Vice Chairperson, and the Lanarkshire International Children's Games Organising Committee. Adamson ran again as candidate for the constituency of Motherwell and Wishaw. She successfully defeated John Pentland and was elected to represent the constituency in the Scottish Parliament. She was returned at the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...

. She has served as Convener of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee since 2021.

Personal life

Adamson married John Adamson, a headteacher, in 2002. They both have one son, with her husband also having his own three children. She has a dog called Coco and enjoys reading and listening to music.

References

External links

*
Clare Adamson's Party Website

Lanarkshire International Children's Games 2011

Scottish Accident Prevention Council

STV 2010 General Election profile

''Wishaw Press'' councillors' expenses review 2008–2009

''Wishaw Press'' councillors' expenses review 2009–2010

STV Local
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Clare 1967 births Living people People from Motherwell Councillors in North Lanarkshire Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Scottish National Party councillors Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Female members of the Scottish Parliament Fellows of the British Computer Society Politicians from North Lanarkshire Women councillors in Scotland