Derek Brownlee (born 10 August 1974) is a Scottish accountant and politician. A member 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 ...
, he 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 ad ...
(MSP) for the
South of Scotland South of Scotland may refer to:
* The southern portion of Scotland
** Geography of Scotland
* South of Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
* South of Scotland (European Parliament constituency)
* South of Scotland District (rugby union) ...
region from 2005 to
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 ...
.
Background
Brownlee grew up in
Selkirk, Scottish Borders
Selkirk is a town and historic royal burgh in the Scottish Borders council district of southeastern Scotland. It lies on the Ettrick Water, a tributary of the River Tweed.
The people of the town are known as Souters, which means cobblers (sho ...
and went to
Selkirk High School. He graduated in
Scots Law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...
LLB (Hons) from the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...
in 1996, and then trained as a
chartered accountant. He worked as a chartered accountant at
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
from 1996 to 2002, the
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors (IoD) is a British professional organisation for company directors, senior business leaders and entrepreneurs. It is the UK's longest running organisation for professional leaders, having been founded in 1903 and incor ...
from 2002 to 2004 and
Deloitte
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...
from 2004 to 2005.
Political career
In the
2003 Scottish Parliament election
The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party MSP, rema ...
Brownlee stood as the Conservative candidate in
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency, finishing fourth but within 1,500 votes of winning the seat.
He became an MSP on 17 April 2005, following
David Mundell
David Gordon Mundell, (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Scottish Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Du ...
resigning his regional seat at Holyrood following his election as
MP for
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in the South of Scotland, within the Dumfries and Galloway, South Lanarkshire and Scottish Borders council areas. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) ...
constituency in the
2005 General Election.
Brownlee was next on the Conservative's list for the South of Scotland region.
Brownlee was appointed the Conservative's finance spokesman in Holyrood in July 2005, replacing
Annabel Goldie
Annabel MacNicoll Goldie, Baroness Goldie (born 27 February 1950) is a Scottish politician and life peer who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 to 2011 and has served as Minister of State for Defence since 2019. She ...
who became the party's leader in Scotland.
Brownlee stood at the
2007 Holyrood elections, contesting the
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency, coming third – pushing the Labour candidate into fourth place. He was again elected as an additional member for the South of Scotland region. After the 2007 election, Brownlee was a member of the Scottish Parliament's Finance Committee and a substitute member of the Scottish Commission for Public Audit.
In 2010 Brownlee was selected by the
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
Conservative Party as their candidate for the
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
at the
2011 Holyrood election.
Brownlee was placed at the top of the Conservatives' South Scotland list after a ballot of party members. At the 2011 election, the Conservatives took three constituency seats in the region but no regional seats and Brownlee failed to be re-elected.
Notes
References
External links
Derek Brownlee MSPpersonal site
Derek Brownlee MSPPersonal Blog
*
Derek Brownlee MSPprofile at the site of the Scottish Conservative Party
Derek Brownlee MSPprofile at the site of the Conservative Party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brownlee, Derek
1974 births
Living people
People from Selkirk, Scottish Borders
People educated at Selkirk High School
Conservative MSPs
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Scottish accountants
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011