Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Minister for Business and Employment since 2023. 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), he served as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment from 2007 to 2016. He rejoined government in 2018 and has served in a series of junior ministerial posts since. Lochhead has been a

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) since 1999, first representing North East Scotland electoral region from 1999 to 2006, before representing the Moray constituency since

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Early life

Richard Neilson Lochhead was born in Paisley on 24 May 1969. He attended

Williamwood High School Williamwood High School is a non-denominational State School, state secondary school in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland. As of 2024, the school contained 1678 pupils out of a capacity of 1710, making it one of the biggest state schools in ...

in Clarkston and Central College of Commerce 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 ...

before he graduated in 1994 in Political Studies from the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

. He worked for the SNP leader,

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

, as his Office Manager from 1994 to 1998, before becoming an environmental development officer for

Dundee City Council Dundee City Council is the Local government in Scotland, local authority for Dundee City council area, Dundee City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Dundee was formerly governed by a municipal c ...

. He was the SNP candidate in

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

in the 1997 UK General Election, where he finished third. He subsequently fought the Aberdeen Central constituency in both 1999 and 2003, but came second to Lewis Macdonald each time.

Political career

SNP in opposition; 1999 to 2007

Lochhead was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 1999 election and re-elected at the 2003 election for the North East Scotland Region. In January 2006 he was selected as the SNP candidate for

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

for the

2007 Scottish Parliament elections The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...

, following the announcement that

Margaret Ewing Margaret Anne Ewing (''née'' McAdam, formerly Bain; 1 September 1945 – 21 March 2006) was a Scottish politician and journalist. She served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire from 1974 to 1979 and ...

MSP would be retiring. He beat

's sister-in-law, former MP

Annabelle Ewing Annabelle Janet Ewing (born 20 August 1960) is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, alongside Liam McArthur, since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), sh ...

in the selection. Ewing's premature death triggered a by-election and Lochhead resigned his additional member seat in April 2006 in order to successfully contest the Moray by-election. He was elected on 28 April 2006. This was the first time since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that an incumbent party had retained a by-election seat without losing votes or having their majority or share of the vote lowered. He was

convener The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the European and External Relations Committee of 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'. ...

11 June 2003 – 14 September 2004. In opposition he held the SNP's portfolios on Environment, Energy, Fishing and Rural Affairs in the Scottish Parliament.

Rural Affairs Secretary; 2007 to 2016

After the SNP's victory at the

2007 Scottish Parliament Election The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...

, it was announced on 16 May 2007 that Lochhead would be the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, taking up the position the following day. The junior Ministerial position of Minister for the Environment was initially given to Michael Russell (currently held by

Aileen McLeod Aileen McLeod (born 24 August 1971) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She is a former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Scotland constituency, having been elected in the 2019 European Parliament election. She served a ...

). In May 2007, Lochhead started his tenure with promises to "relentlessly" pursue the Scottish fishing interests on behalf of fishermen and their communities. Lochhead was re-elected at the 2011 election with a further increased majority of 10,944. He announced his resignation as Environment Secretary, effective on 18 May 2016, as

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

put together her reshuffle to appoint the

second Sturgeon government Nicola Sturgeon formed the second Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 5th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of first ...

Return to government; 2018 to present

On 31 August 2018 he was announced as

Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science The Minister for Higher and Further Education is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Executive Education Department, Education Department of the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Government of the 4th Scot ...

. He retained his seat at 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, ...

, with an increased majority, number of votes and percentage of votes cast. After the election, he was appointed as Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work. In 2023, he was appointed as Business Minister by the new Frist Minister

Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (; born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish ...

and has held the role, under various titles, since. Lochhead announced on 26 January 2025 that he would not seek re-election in

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. * January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day. * February 5 – The New START Treat ...

Personal life

Richard Lochhead is married to Fiona, and they have two children together. He is a supporter of

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional Association football, football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have List of unrelegated association football clubs, never been relegated from the top division of th ...

Given that he won the

2006 Moray by-election A 2006 by-election for the Moray constituency in the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast can ...

and was successfully elected at every

general election since its establishment, Lochhead was the MSP who had been elected to the parliament the highest number of times prior to his retirement in 2026. In 2024, Lochhead spent six weeks in hospital and had to learn how to walk again after becoming seriously ill with

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

Notes

References

External links

personal website
*
profile
on SNP website {{DEFAULTSORT:Lochhead, Richard 1969 births Living people Scottish National Party MSPs Alumni of the University of Stirling Ministers of the Scottish Government Politics of Moray Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire People educated at Williamwood High School 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 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026