Kevin Morrice Stewart (born 3 June 1968) 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 serving as Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care since 2021 and 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 Aberdeen Central 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 ...

. He previously served as Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning from 2016 to 2021.

Political career

Stewart was a local councillor in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

between 1999 and 2011, serving as Depute Leader of

Aberdeen City Council gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

from 2007. As a councillor, he chaired the Finance and Resources Committee and the North East of Scotland's Regional Transport Partnership, NESTRANS. He also served as the chair of the 3Rs Board. In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election he was elected to represent Aberdeen Central. Stewart was the convener of 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 ...

's Local Government and Regeneration Committee, where he oversaw scrutiny of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Stewart was also a member of the Welfare Reform Committee and also sat on the Justice Sub-committee on Policing. He was also involved in the Cross-Party Groups on Oil & Gas, Scots language, Nuclear Disarmament, Malawi and Tibet. He also acted as Parliamentary Liaison Officer to Nicola Sturgeon from November 2014 until the dissolution of parliament in March 2016. Stewart has lodged a number of motions in parliament in support of

Votes at 16 Votes at 16 is a campaign in the United Kingdom which argues in favour of the reduction of the voting age to 16 for all public elections. The campaign espouses several principles in favour of lowering the voting age. Votes at 16 Coalition The Vo ...

. He made a speech in favour of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

on 20 November 2013 at the Scottish Parliament Stage 1 Debate on the

Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 5) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which allows same-sex couples to marry in Scotland since 16 December 2014. The bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2013 b ...

, in which he spoke about his experience of coming out as gay. Stewart stood again in 2016 and was re-elected with an increased majority. He was appointed as Minister for Local Government and Housing on 18 May 2016 when Sturgeon announced her government.

References

External links

*
profile
at the SNP website
They Work For You.com
1968 births Living people Members of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen constituencies Scottish National Party MSPs 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 Gay politicians Councillors in Aberdeen Scottish National Party councillors LGBT members of the Scottish Parliament {{MSP-stub