Annabel MacNicoll Goldie, Baroness Goldie (born 27 February 1950) is a Scottish politician and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

who served as

Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

from 2005 to 2011 and has served as Minister of State for Defence since 2019. She 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), as one of the additional members for the West Scotland region, from 1999 to 2016.

Early life and career

Annabel MacNicoll Goldie was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Scotland and raised in Kilmacolm and

Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch (; sco, Lochineuch, gd, Loch Uinneach) is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying on the banks of Castle Semple Loch and the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is c ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

. Educated at Kilmacolm Primary School and Greenock Academy, she went on to study at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

in Glasgow, graduating with an LL.B in 1971. Prior to entering politics, she was a solicitor and partner with Glasgow law firm Donaldson, Alexander, Russell & Haddow from 1978 to 2006.

Political career

Goldie first stood for election to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

at the 1992 general election for the Renfrew West and Inverclyde constituency, coming second with 32.9% of the vote. Goldie was 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 Holyr ...

in the 1999 election as a regional member for the West of Scotland electoral region. She has retained this seat in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections. She became leader of the Scottish Conservatives in 2005 until standing down in 2011. In addition to her appearance on the regional list ballots, she also stood as a candidate in the West Renfrewshire constituency for the Scottish Parliament in 1999, 2003 and 2007. While increasing the Conservative share of the vote each time, she has yet to be elected although raised her position from third to second place in 2007 with a reduced Labour majority. West Renfrewshire was abolished at the 2011 election, with Goldie unsuccessfully contending the new Renfrewshire North and West constituency. On 31 October 2005, Goldie became acting leader after David McLetchie resigned as leader of the Scottish Conservatives following adverse publicity created by the publishing of details of expenses he claimed for taxi journeys. Goldie put herself forward as a leadership candidate on 2 November 2005—a joint nomination with Murdo Fraser as her proposed deputy. Their nomination was unopposed and Goldie was appointed leader on 8 November 2005, the first woman to lead the Scottish Conservative Party. In her maiden speech as leader, she promised to act against "disloyalty and disobedience" in the party and in a reference to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

she said, "I think you may take it matron's handbag will be in hyper-action. There could be worse precedents to follow". At her first party conference in March 2006, Goldie set out her plans to make the Scottish Conservatives the "principal party of opposition in Scotland". However, her second conference as party leader was overshadowed by a leaked memo by David Mundell, the only Scottish Conservative MP in the House of Commons, and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, in which he criticised Goldie's leadership. Goldie won praise for her leadership of the party into 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. Local elections in Scotland fe ...

and personally as a skilled debater, and was labelled a "much-liked public figure". From February 2009 onwards, she was given monthly attendance rights to participate in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

On 9 May 2011, Goldie stated her intention to resign as leader of the Scottish Conservatives, citing her party's disappointing election result; she stood down on 4 November following the election of

Ruth Davidson Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish ...

as her successor. Goldie later served as the party's culture and communities and served as the party's constitutional spokesperson during the 2014 Scottish referendum and stood down from the Parliament at the 2016 election. Goldie was put on the 2013 list as a Conservative working peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

and was created a

on 3 October 2013, taking the title Baroness Goldie, ''of Bishopton in the County of Renfrewshire''. In June 2016, she was appointed a

Baroness-in-Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (withou ...

in the Royal Household, acting as a

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

in the

UK Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

. She was promoted in July 2019 to Minister of State for Defence. She was later reappointed by

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped dow ...

and

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, lastly as ...

respectively. Sbe has identified the need for the armed forces to address climate change, and to improve the experience of women in the forces, as among her priorities.

Personal life

Goldie lives in

Bishopton, Renfrewshire Bishopton (/bɪʃəptən/) ( sco, Bishoptoun; gd, Baile an Easbaig) is a village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. It is located around west of Erskine. History There was a Roman Fort at Bishopton which was discovered from aerial photographs in 19 ...

. She is also an

Elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...

in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

, and sits on the West of Scotland Advisory Board of the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

. She is a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of

Notes

References

External links

*
Annabel Goldie's blog at Wordpress.com

Scottish Conservative biography

Goldie 'ready to wield handbag'
''BBC News'', 8 November 2005 * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldie, Annabel 1950 births Living people Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative MSPs Deputy Lieutenants of Renfrewshire Elders of the Church of Scotland People educated at Greenock Academy Leaders of the Scottish Conservative Party Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Politicians from Glasgow People from Renfrewshire Scottish solicitors Female members of the Scottish Parliament Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 20th-century Scottish women politicians Women opposition leaders Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II