Christina McKelvie (born 4 March 1968) is a Scottish politician who has served as

Minister for Equalities and Older People The Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees ( gd, Ministear airson Co-ionannachdan, Imrich agus Fògarraich) is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet.< ...

since 2018. 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), she 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 Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse since

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, having previously represented the Central Scotland region from

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

to 2011.

Early life

McKelvie was born on 4 March 1968 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 popul ...

. She grew up in

Easterhouse Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south ...

, in the East End of the city, and was educated at

St Leonard's Secondary School St. Leonard's Secondary School (The Lenny)"Glasgow's Winning way with names", '' TES Magazine''. 20 March 1998. http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=304034 was a Catholic, mixed-sex, comprehensive secondary school located in Easterhouse ...

. McKelvie then went on to gain qualifications from

Anniesland College Anniesland College was a small, local further education college in Glasgow, Scotland, established in 1964. The college had seven schools, offering a range of courses and levels of study, full-time, part-time or flexibly. This new building is a ...

Cardonald College Cardonald College was a medium-sized Further education institute located in Glasgow's South Side, in Scotland. Officially opened in 1972, it had over 12,000 full-time and part-time students. Cardonald College merged with Anniesland College and ...

, and the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. She worked in the social work services department of

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the S ...

as a learning and development officer. She has been an active trade unionist with

Unison In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

Political career

, McKelvie was selected as the SNP candidate for the Hamilton South constituency where she was unsuccessful, however she was elected through the regional list to represent the Central Scotland region. At the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to Members of the 4th Scottish Parliament, elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, ...

, McKelvie contested the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat and was elected. She served as convener of the European and External Relations Committee from 14 June 2011 until 23 March 2016. In 2016, she was re-elected to the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency. Within Parliament she became the Convener of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee. In February 2021 she announced a short medical leave. Her ministerial role was covered by

Shirley-Anne Somerville Shirley-Anne Somerville (born 2 September 1974) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament ...

who would fill in as minister for equalities and older people.

References

External links

*
personal website
for Christina McKelvie MSP {{DEFAULTSORT:McKelvie, Christina 1968 births Living people People educated at St Leonard's Secondary School Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish National Party MSPs 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 Ministers of the Scottish Government Female members of the Scottish Parliament Politicians from Glasgow