Patricia Josephine Ferguson (born 24 September 1958,

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 ...

) is a

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

politician who was 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 Glasgow Maryhill constituency from 1999 until 2011 and for

Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood), being one of eight constituencies within the Glasgow City council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first p ...

from 2011 until 2016.

Background

Ferguson was educated at Garnethill Convent Secondary School in Glasgow between 1970 and 1976, and at Glasgow College of Technology, where she obtained an HNC in

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

in 1978. She spent part of her childhood living in the city's

Red Road Flats The Red Road Flats were a mid-twentieth-century high-rise housing complex located between the districts of Balornock and Barmulloch in the northeast of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The estate originally consisted of eight multi-storey blocks ...

. Prior to entering 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 ...

, she worked as a health service administrator between 1978 and 1990, with the

Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the National trade union center, national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation ...

between 1990 and 1994, and with the

between 1994 and 1999.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

She was first elected as an MSP in 1999 for the newly created Glasgow Maryhill constituency, a seat she held until 2011 when Glasgow Maryhill was merged with other constituencies to form the

constituency. She won the 2011 Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn election but lost her seat in 2016 to SNP member

Bob Doris Bob Doris (born 11 May 1973) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, having previously served ...

. After being elected as MSP for Glasgow Maryhill in May 1999, she was Deputy Presiding Officer of the

from 1999 until 2001 and as a member of several of the Parliament's Standards and Procedures Committees. She was first appointed to the Scottish Executive Cabinet in November 2001 as Minister for Parliament when

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister ...

became

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

. She became Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in October 2004. In 2006, her name was included on a variant of a

Nigerian scam An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the frauds ...

email after a high-profile trip to

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

as part of her Scottish Executive brief.

Local Government

In the

2022 Glasgow City Council election The 2022 election to the Glasgow City Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 23 wards created following the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland' ...

, Ferguson was one of four members (including Labour colleague Paul Carey) elected to represent the Drumchapel/Anniesland ward.

Personal life

She is married to former Labour MSP Bill Butler.

References

External links

*
Patricia Ferguson
Personal website
Patricia Ferguson
Biography at Labour party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Patricia Living people Scottish trade unionists Maryhill Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Members of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow constituencies Labour MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament Ministers of the Scottish Government Women members of the Scottish Government 20th-century Scottish women politicians Women councillors in Glasgow Scottish Labour councillors 1958 births