Robert McKay Gibson (born 10 October 1945) is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP) politician. He was a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The add ...

(MSP) from 2003 until 2016, first as a

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

regional member from 2003 until 2011, then representing the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency from 2011 until 2016.

Early life

Gibson was born in Glasgow on 10 October 1945. He was educated at the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

, where he headed the SNP student wing, the

Federation of Student Nationalists SNP Students (also known as the Federation of Student Nationalists) is the student wing of the Scottish National Party (SNP), representing students in Scottish higher education. It was formed in 1961 when various student organisations supportiv ...

. He was a district councillor in

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the l ...

and worked as a senior secondary school teacher in Alness and Invergordon before taking early retirement in 1995.

Political career

Gibson stood as SNP candidate for the

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

seat in the

February 1974 United Kingdom general election February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...

. He stood as a candidate for Ross, Cromarty and Skye in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

and again in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

. Gibson was first elected to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...

in the

2003 election The following elections occurred in the year 2003. Africa * 2003 Beninese parliamentary election * 2003 Djiboutian parliamentary election * 2003 Guinean presidential election * 2003 Mauritanian presidential election * 2003 Nigerian parliamentary ...

from the Highlands and Islands regional list, and was re-elected for this region in 2007. During the fourth Scottish Parliament, he was the Convener of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee. In 2012, the Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards named him their ''Politician of the Year''. In May 2015 he announced that he would not stand for re-election in the

2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electio ...

Personal life

His partner is the former Highlands and Islands MSP,

Eleanor Scott Eleanor Roberta Scott (''née'' Ettles, born 23 July 1951) is a Scottish politician and physician. She was Scottish Greens Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands from 2003–2007, then female co-convener of the pa ...

, of the

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 202 ...

. Gibson is also a musician and an author, and has written several books about Highland history and emigration. These include ''Plaids and Bandanas'', ''The Highland Clearances Trail'' and ''Highland Cowboys''.

Bibliography

* ''The Promised Land?'', Strollamus Crofers Defence Committee, January 1974 * ''Left, Right, Left, Right...?'', in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 1, Winter 1975, pp. 14–16, * ''Cymraeg – a startling revival'',

Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Jones (born 24 August 1943) is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which ad ...

and Arfon Gwilym interviewed by Rob Gibson, in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 3, Spring 1976, pp. 18–21, * review of ''The Break-up of Britain'' by

Tom Nairn Tom Nairn (born 2 June 1932) is a Scottish political theorist and academic. He is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. He is known as an essayist and a supporter of Scottish ...

, in Easton, Norman (ed.), ''Crann-Tàra'' No. 1, Winter 1977, pp. 14 & 15 * ''It's Scotland's Soil'', in Easton, Norman (ed.), ''Crann-Tàra'' No. 2, Spring 1978, pp. 8 & 9 * ''A Case for Producer Co-ops?'', in Easton, Norman (ed.), ''Crann-Tàra'' No. 7, Summer 1979, pp. 3 & 14 * ''Land to the People'', ''79 Group News'', October 1981, Glasgow * ''Community Control: For Scottish Industry'', in Dunn, Ian (ed.), ''Radical Scotland'' Summer '82, p. 21, * ''Mightier than a Landlord'', in Lawson, Alan (ed.), ''Radical Scotland'' Feb/Mar 1990, pp. 22 & 23, * ''Toppling the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

: Outrage on

Ben Bhraggie Ben Bhraggie ( gd, Beinn a' Bhragaidh) is a hill in Scotland which rises to an elevation of above sea level. The hill dominates the skyline above the village of Golspie and is visible from many parts of east Sutherland. The statue which is per ...

?'', Highland Heritage Books, 1996, * contribution on Scottish National Party policies to ''Whose Party Line is it Anyway? General Election 1997'', in Grant, Karen (ed.), ''Reforesting Scotland'', Spring 1997,pp. 7–10, * ''The

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resul ...

Trail'', Luath Press, 2007, * ''Reclaiming Our Land'', Highland Heritage Educational Trust, 2020,

References

External links

*
Official BlogRib Gibson MSP Press RoomPublic Whip Voting RecordThey Work For YouBBC Democracy Live

Guardian profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Rob 1945 births Living people Politicians from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Dundee Scottish National Party MSPs Scottish schoolteachers Scottish republicans Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016