Karen Macdonald Gillon (' Turnbull; born 18 August 1967) is a

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

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 constituency of Clydesdale 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

Gillon was born in 1967 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to Edith Turnbull. She was educated at the state comprehensive Jedburgh Grammar School before going on to study at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. Before entering politics, she worked in community education. From 1997 until 1999, she served as personal assistant to

Helen Liddell Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke PC (' Reilly; born 6 December 1950) is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2001 to 2003 and British High Commissioner to Australia from 2005 t ...

MP.

Political career

Gillon was elected in the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parlia ...

, taking 16,755 votes (43.02%). She was re elected 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 14,800 votes (46.62%) 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 13,835 votes (41.5%). She served as Labour's spokesperson on

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

until her defeat in 2011. Gillon was co-chair of the ''Cross Party Group on Malawi'' and worked with civic society across Scotland and in the constituency of Clydesdale, to develop better links between the two countries. She was defeated 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 ...

by the candidate from the SNP, Aileen Campbell, by 4,216 votes (14.1%).

Personal life

Gillon is married to James Gillon with whom she has two sons and one daughter. Gillon is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and has described the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes () are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. In ...

as the best example in the Bible of turning prayer into action.

References

External links

* 1967 births Living people Labour MSPs Female members of the Scottish Parliament People from Jedburgh Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Alumni of the University of Birmingham 20th-century Scottish women politicians Scottish Christians {{MSP-stub