Ben Macpherson is a Scottish politician who has served as

Minister for Social Security and Local Government The Minister for Social Security and Local Government is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet.Minister for Public Finance and Migration (February 2020-December 2020) and Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment (December 2020-May 2021). A member of the

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), he has been 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 the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Early life and education

Macpherson attended Flora Stevenson Primary School and then

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...

. He then graduated from the

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

with a degree in philosophy and politics. He later studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. As a youth, Macpherson was involved in the local Labour Party. When he was sixteen, he did work experience with his local MSP Malcolm Chisolm, whose constituency he later represented. He became a member of the SNP in 2005, having left Labour in 2003 due to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and lack of progress on social inclusion. He worked in a number of different roles and sectors, including time as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

, for a

wave energy Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated by wind ...

company and as a clerical assistant at

James Gillespie's High School James Gillespie's High School is a state-funded secondary school in Marchmont, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a comprehensive high school, educating pupils between the ages of 11 and 18, situated at the centre of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle and H ...

. He then trained as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, working for the firm

Brodies Brodies LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each ...

. In the summer of 2004 he walked from Edinburgh to London to raise awareness of the annual

International Day of Peace The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as migh ...

. Growing up he was a keen footballer and played for several teams in Edinburgh and the University of York's 1st Team. In 2003, he lived briefly in China, working as a volunteer English teacher in Wujiang.

Political career

In August 2015, Macpherson was selected from a field of ten contenders as the SNP candidate for the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency, having been supported by former SNP leader

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

and Edinburgh Southern MSP Jim Eadie. Tipped as "one of the SNP’s rising stars", at the May 2016 Scottish Parliament election Macpherson won the seat with a 10% swing from Labour. He succeeded Malcolm Chisholm, who had retired. As a

backbencher In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

, he served on the Justice

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

and the Social Security Committee, and was a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

. On 27 June 2018, he was appointed as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development in the Scottish Government. He served in this role until February 2020, when he became Minister for Public Finance and Migration. In December 2020, he was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment. Macpherson was re-elected 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. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...

, when his constituency was the last to declare a result. In the subsequent ministerial reshuffle, Macpherson was appointed on 19 May as

Minister for Social Security and Local Government The Minister for Social Security and Local Government is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet.Ben Macpherson profile
on SNP website
personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacPherson, Ben Year of birth missing (living people) 1980s births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Edinburgh Scottish solicitors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of York Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Members of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh constituencies Ministers of the Scottish Government