Dennis Robertson (born 14 August 1956) is a Scottish politician, and formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeenshire West constituency 2011–2016. He is a member of the Scottish National Party. He is the first blind MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament.

Education and early career

Robertson was educated at the Royal Blind School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

(1968–1974), then studyied social work at

Langside College Langside College was a further and higher education college located in the Mount Florida / Battlefield region of Glasgow. It was established in 1947 and enrols over 5,000 students every year of whom many are from countries outwith the European ...

(1981–1983). He worked as a social worker in Greenock from 1979. In 1989 he joined the

Guide Dogs for the Blind Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) is a guide dog school located in the United States, with campuses in San Rafael, California, and Boring, Oregon. It was founded in 1942 by Lois Merrihew and Don Donaldson to help veterans who had been blinded in Wo ...

association based in

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...

, before joining North East Sensory Services in 2005.

Political career

He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2011, after defeating the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

incumbent,

Mike Rumbles Michael John Rumbles (born 10 June 1956) is a former Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland, from 2016 to 2021. He previously represented West Aberdeenshire and Kinc ...

, by a majority of 4,112 votes. In 2013 he was involved wit ha consultation looking at legislating to crack down on the fraudulent use of blue disabled badges. He stood again in 2016 but was unseated by Alexander Burnett. He then stood for local government in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. He was elected to

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

for the Stonehaven and lower Deeside ward.

Personal life

Robertson has been registered as blind since he was 11. Married to Anne, the couple had two daughters. Their daughter Caroline died in February 2011, from complications arising from

anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

, after Robertson had started election campaigning.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Dennis 1956 births Living people Blind politicians Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Scottish social workers Councillors in Aberdeenshire