Kevin Morrice Stewart (born 3 June 1968) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care since 2021 and as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeen Central since 2011. 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 The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...

he was elected to represent Aberdeen Central. Stewart was the convener of the Scottish Parliament'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. 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 sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

on 20 November 2013 at the Scottish Parliament Stage 1 Debate on the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, in which he spoke about his experience of coming out as gay. Stewart stood again in

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

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