Gail Ross
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Gail Elizabeth Ross is a former
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) politician, who served as 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 Caithness, Sutherland and Ross from the election in May 2016 up until
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
when she decided to not seek re-election. She was a councillor on the
Highland Council The Highland Council (' ) is the local authority for Highland, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based at the Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness. History The Highland area had been created as an administrative a ...
2011–2016, and civic leader of Caithness 2012–2016.


Early life

Ross grew up in Reiss and
Wick, Caithness Wick ( ; ) is a town and royal burgh in Caithness, in the far north of Scotland. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay. "Wick Locality" had a population of 6,954 at the time of the United Kingdom Census 2011 ...
. She studied in Glasgow, first a combination of advertising and PR, later English and psychology.


Political career

She joined the SNP in 1997. She was first elected to Highland council in a by-election in 2011. At the time her success was considered a breakthrough for the SNP. She was re-elected in May 2012.


Civic leader

In May 2012, following re-election to Highland Council, she became the civic leader of Caithness. In August 2015, Ross spoke out against the Grindadráp, a Faroese traditional celebration of whaling, suggesting that on account of this that Wick should reconsider their twinning arrangement with the town of
Klaksvík Klaksvík () is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The fir ...
. Ross wrote to the mayor of Klaksvík to raise her concerns that the whaling was not something that Wick should be associated with. In January 2016 the matter was brought to the Highland Council, which led to an intervention from Klaksvík's mayor. The council deferred making a decision.


Scottish Parliament

In August 2015, Ross was announced as the SNP candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross in the 2016
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'. ...
election, in place of the retiring Rob Gibson. During her time in Holyrood, she called for increased provision of ambulances in Caithness and highlighted the need for affordable housing in the Highlands. In May 2016 she was elected with a majority of 3,913. The following month she was elected as the deputy convener of the Rural Affairs and Connectivity Committee. In February 2020, Ross announced that she would not be standing for reelection in the next election, citing her wish to spend more time with her family. In November 2016 she resigned her position on Highland council after other Caithness councillors called for an independent review into the introduction of midwife-led maternity services in their area made by NHS Highland. Ross supported the decision by NHS Highland to proceed with the reconfiguration to a Community Maternity Unit (CMU) at Caithness General Hospital, which had been recommended on safety grounds following a review.


Executive positions

She is a member of the board of North Highland College.


Personal life

She is married to a teacher and they have a son together. Ross has worked as a model, posing as the muses depicted on the glass engraved trophy awarded to winners of the ''
Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of the ...
'' television quiz.


References


External links

*
profile
on SNP website
personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Gail Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Scottish National Party councillors People from Caithness Place of birth missing (living people) Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Scottish National Party MSPs Female members of the Scottish Parliament