Robert Hardie Bruce Crawford (born 16 February 1955) 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 who served as Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy from 2011 to 2012, having held the junior ministerial position of

Minister for Parliamentary Business The Minister for Parliamentary Business is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet but supports the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, who is a member of the cabin ...

from 2007 to 2011. Crawford served as the

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 ad ...

(MSP) for

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

from 2007 to 2021, having previously represented the Mid Scotland and Fife region 1999–2007.

Background

Crawford was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Prior to entering politics, he was a

human resource manager Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

with the

Scottish Office The Scottish Office was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1999, exercising a wide range of government functions in relation to Scotland under the control of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Following the e ...

Political career

Perth Council

Crawford served as

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

for

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

District Council from 1988 to 1996 and on Perth and Kinross Council from 1995 to 2001. Crawford was also Leader of

Perth and Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council ( gd, Comhairle Pheairt is Cheann Rois) is the local government council for the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland. It employs around 6,000 people. The council was created in 1996, under the ''Local Government ...

from 1995 to 1999.

In opposition in Scottish Parliament

He 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 Holyro ...

to represent Mid Scotland and Fife at the 1999 election. He was re-elected in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

. He was appointed Chief Whip by

John Swinney John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 200 ...

. He ran Swinney's campaign to be re-elected as SNP National Convenor when he was challenged by Dr. Bill Wilson in late 2003. Following the adoption of a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

by the SNP in 2004, Crawford was appointed as the SNP's Business Convener.

Government Minister

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. Local elections in Scotland fe ...

, Crawford gained the

seat from the Labour Party. The SNP's combined electoral success put them in minority government, and Crawford was appointed to the junior ministerial position of

, a position that he held until the end of the parliamentary session. Crawford was returned to the Stirling constituency in the 2011 election. On 19 May 2011, Crawford became the Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy, departing from this role on 5 September 2012. Crawford was Convener of the Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee 25 October 2012 – 29 October 2014 and then Convener of the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee 29 October 2014 – 23 March 2016.

Return to backbenches

Crawford was re-elected in the 2016 election. On 18 February 2020, he announced that he would stand down as an MSP at the 2021 election.

Personal life

Crawford and his wife, Jacqueline, have three sons.

References

External links

*
Bruce Crawford MSP
personal web site

Bannockburn SNP website details on Bruce Crawford {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Bruce 1955 births Living people People from Perth, Scotland Scottish National Party councillors Ministers of the Scottish Government 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