Eleanor Roberta Scott (''née'' Ettles, born 23 July 1951) is a Scottish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and physician. She was

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...

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

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

from 2003–2007, then female co-convener of the party from 2008–2011 with

Patrick Harvie Patrick Harvie (born 18 March 1973) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights from 2021 to 2024. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and i ...

Early life and education

Eleanor Roberta Ettles was born in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

on 23 July 1951. Her parents were Roberta (''née'' Reid) and William Ettles. She educated at

Bearsden Academy Bearsden Academy is a non-denominational, state secondary school in Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. History Bearsden Cross site (1911–1958) In 1911, the school was situated on the corner of Roman Road and Drymen Road north of Bea ...

, and studied medicine at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, graduating with a MBChB in 1974.

Career

She worked as a community

paediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their yout ...

in Inverness 1980−87 and in

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

1987−2003, providing a service for special needs children in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. Since joining the Scottish Green Party in 1989, Scott has campaigned on many issues, most recently against the building of new

incinerators Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

GM crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of se ...

in the

Black Isle The Black Isle (, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Resolis, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and North Kesso ...

and the movement against war in Iraq. In 1999, the Scottish Green Party selected her at the top of its regional list for the Highlands and Islands, although it did not gain a seat in that region. The same year she was also selected to stand as a Scottish Green Party candidate for the

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...

, the Party did not win any of the six seats. She stood unsuccessfully for the United Kingdom Parliament for Ross, Skye and Inverness West in the 2001 election and again in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

when the Scottish Green Party fielded candidates in 20 constituencies across Scotland.

Scottish Parliament

She was 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'. ...

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 ...

, when the Scottish Green Party gained a Highlands and Islands regional seat. Her partner Rob Gibson, was also first elected from the Highlands and Islands regional list in 2003, as a

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, ...

MSP. She took her oath as MSP in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, as enthusiast for the language. She was Party spokesperson for health, and from June 2005, also spokesperson on rural development. She stood again in the 2007 Scottish election, and was not re-elected. In September 2008, she was involved in a leadership contest against Nina Baker and Maggie Chapman. Scott was elected to the position of co-convener of the Scottish Green Party alongside Patrick Harvie, a position she held until 2011. For the 2011 election she was again placed at the top of the Scottish Green Party's regional list for the Highlands and Islands, however the Party were unsuccessful in gaining a seat in the region. The following year she participated in the Yes Highland meetings ahead of the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

Personal life

Scott is married to former

MSP Rob Gibson. They have two children; a son and a daughter.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Eleanor 1951 births Living people People educated at Bearsden Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 21st-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish pacifists Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Green MSPs People from Inverness Female members of the Scottish Parliament Leaders of the Scottish Greens 20th-century Scottish women medical doctors 21st-century Scottish women medical doctors 20th-century Scottish women politicians Spouses of British politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians