Mairi Angela Gougeon (''

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

'' Evans; born 23 April 1985) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands since 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 has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Angus North and Mearns since 2016. A graduate of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, Gougeon was elected to the Angus Council in the 2007 Scottish local elections. She represented the Brechin and Edzell ward and was the council's spokesperson on economic development. She stood down in the 2017 election, following her election 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'. ...

the previous year. In 2018, she was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, before being appointed Minister for Public Health and Sport in 2020. Gougeon was re-elected in 2021 and was promoted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to the Scottish Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands; she was re-appointed by new First Minister Humza Yousaf in 2023, while also gaining the land reform portfolio.

Early life

Education and early career

Mairi Angela Evans was born on 23 April 1985 in Brechin in Angus. She was educated at Kilgraston School where she had a scholarship. She attended the

from 2003 to 2007, graduating with a Master of Arts in history. From 2002 to 2010, she worked as Senior Assistant in the National Trust for Scotland.

Early political years

After graduating from university, Gougeon was elected to Angus Council in the 2007 council election, representing the Brechin and Edzell ward. She became convener of infrastructure services, then later the development and enterprise convener. Gougeon was re-elected in 2012 election. She was a member of Angus Council, who caused the eviction of 20 families from South Links Caravan Park, Montrose in 2015, following an inward investment decision in 2011, granting a third party an unsecured loan of £275,000. Gougeon was chairwoman of the East of Scotland European Consortium. She did some political work in Brussels. She represented Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on the executive of the

Council of European Municipalities and Regions The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe. Its members are 60 national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 41 countries that are part of th ...

(CEMR). She resigned as a councillor in 2017, following her election to the

Member of the Scottish Parliament

In August 2015, Gougeon was selected to be the SNP candidate for the Angus North and Mearns constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, replacing the incumbent MSP Nigel Don. On 6 May 2016, she was elected to the Scottish Parliament and was sworn in on 13 May.

Junior minister

She was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment in June 2018. In December 2020, she succeeded Joe FitzPatrick as Minister for Public Health and Sport after he had resigned due to an increase in drug deaths in Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands

At the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Gougeon was re-elected as the MSP for Angus North and Mearns. On 19 May 2021, she was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet, as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands in Nicola Sturgeon's new government. On 14 March 2024, she announced she would stand down at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Personal life

Gougeon married Paris-born Baptiste Gougeon in July 2017.

Footnotes

References

External links

*
profile
on SNP website
profile
on Angus Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Gougeon, Mairi 1985 births Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Members of the Scottish Cabinet Scottish National Party councillors Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People from Angus, Scotland Female members of the Scottish Parliament Women members of the Scottish Government