Linda Fabiani (born 14 December 1956) HonFRIAS OSSI FCIH is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer in 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'. ...

from 2016 to 2021. A member 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), she was 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 East Kilbride constituency from

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 ...

until her retirement in 2021. She was previously a regional member of the

for the Central Scotland region 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 ...

until

Early life and career

Fabiani was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to a family with both Scottish and Italian roots. Prior to entering politics, she worked as director of East Kilbride Housing Association.

Political career

, 2003 and 2007 elections, Fabiani unsuccessfully contested the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

constituency of East Kilbride finishing as runner up to Andy Kerr of

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 ...

, reducing Labour's majority from 6,499 in 1999 to 1,972 in 2007. However, being listed at number five in the SNP regional list for Central Scotland in 1999, she gained a seat in the newly-established Scottish Parliament. She told the '' Dundee Courier'' in January 2021 that she had been surprised to get elected at her first attempt. Following the election of 2003, she served as the SNP's Deputy Spokesman on Communities inside the Scottish Parliament and chaired the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee. In 2007, Fabiani was made

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity by Italy in recognition of her work promoting links between Scotland and Italy. With the SNP taking control of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

after the 2007 election, Fabiani was appointed Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture. Half way through the SNP's term, she was replaced as minister by Mike Russell. In 2009, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. She is a former Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing of Scotland. In May 2011, in the first SNP gain of the election, Fabiani took the East Kilbride constituency from Andy Kerr. With Kerr widely touted as a potential successor to Labour leader Iain Gray, this was one of the major SNP victories of the election. On 21 June 2011 she became the Convener of the Scotland Bill committee. After her election, she set up a constituency office in 1/3 Strathmore House in the town centre of East Kilbride. After being re-elected in the 2016 election, Fabiani was elected as one of the two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament. In August 2020, Fabiani announced that she would not be seeking re-election in the

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

. In her final term, Fabiani was chosen as convenor of the Scottish Parliamentary inquiry into the government's mishandling of claims made against Alex Salmond.

References

External links

*
Linda Fabiani MSP – Personal Website

TheyWorkForYou.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiani, Linda 1956 births Living people Politicians from Glasgow Scottish people of Italian descent Scottish republicans Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament Ministers of the Scottish Government Women members of the Scottish Government 20th-century Scottish women politicians People educated at Hyndland Secondary School Fellows of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow