Siobhian Brown (born 20 October 1972) is a Scottish politician serving 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

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

since

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. A member of the

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), she was a councillor for the Ayr West ward of

South Ayrshire Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. Born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and raised in Australia, she was elected to 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 ...

in the May 2021 election. Brown has served as

Convener The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee since June 2021.

Political career

Brown joined the

the day after the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

. She was elected to

for the Ayr West ward in the 2017 Scottish local election.

Scottish Parliament

In November 2020, she was selected as the SNP's candidate for the Ayr constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In May 2021, she was elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament for Ayr with a majority of 170 votes, defeating the incumbent John Scott who had been the

Scottish Conservatives 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 ...

' longest serving MSP.

Personal life

Born in London to Scottish parents, Brown emigrated to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia when she was three years old. After travelling around the world working in Spain, Italy, London and Scotland, she moved to Ayrshire—where her parents are from—in 1999. Brown has four children (including a step-daughter), with her youngest being born when she was 44 years old. In 2016 she founded the South Ayrshire Babybank and remains a volunteer for the organisation.

References

External links

* 1970s births Year of birth uncertain Living people Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Scottish National Party councillors Female members of the Scottish Parliament People associated with South Ayrshire Councillors in Ayrshire Scottish emigrants to Australia Women councillors in Scotland {{MSP-stub