Clare Anne Adamson FBCS (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Pickering; born 1 August 1967) is a Scottish politician who has been 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 add ...

(MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw since

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 ...

. 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 th ...

(SNP), she was previously an additional MSP for the Central Scotland region from

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 celebrates ...

to 2016. A graduate of the

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

, before entering politics Adamson was a

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (a ...

. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, she was elected to the

North Lanarkshire Council North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

for the

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it form ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. She ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency, but was elected as an additional member for the Central Scotland region in

. Adamson was elected as the MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw in 2016 and was re-elected for a third term in the 2021 election. She has since served as the

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

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 Holyr ...

's Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee.

Early life and career

Clare Anne Pickering was born on 1 August 1967 in

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

, to Eileen and George Pickering. She moved to grow up in Wishaw at the age of seven and she studied

Computer Information Systems An information system (IS) is a formal, sociotechnical, organizational system designed to collect, process, store, and distribute information. From a sociotechnical perspective, information systems are composed by four components: task, people, ...

, graduating with the degree of BSc ( with distinction). In 1984 Adamson joined the

and she worked at the SNP HQ Campaign Unit as Project Manager of the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

's ''Activate Project'' from 2003 to 2007. She was previously a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an Development Manager ( IT) at a

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 popu ...

-based

software house A software company is a company whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry. Types There are a number of different types of softw ...

. She belongs to the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Structure There is ...

and is a

Fellow of the British Computer Society Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in inf ...

. Adamson ran as a candidate for the SNP in various elections, but was unsuccessful. She ran for election to the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

and contested Lanark & Hamilton East in the

2010 UK General Election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

. In the

2007 Scottish local elections The 2007 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England. All 32 Scottish councils had all their seats up for election – all Scottish councils are unit ...

, she was elected to the North Lanarkshire Council, representing her home town of the Wishaw ward. She stood down from the council in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

following her election to the

Member of the Scottish Parliament

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 ...

, Adamson was the SNP's candidate for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency. She was defeated by

Scottish Labour 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 of ...

John Pentland John Williamson Pentland is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency from 2011 to 2016. Pentland worked as a welder with Butters Brothers, Craign ...

and was elected as an additional member of the

for the Central Scotland region. After being elected to the parliament, she served as the Parliamentary Liaison Officer to

Culture Secretary The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department ...

Fiona Hyslop Fiona Jane Hyslop (born 1 August 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliame ...

. Adamson has continued to be actively involved with the Scottish Accident Prevention Council, as Vice Chairperson, and the Lanarkshire International Children's Games Organising Committee. Adamson ran again as candidate for the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Motherwell and Wishaw. She successfully defeated John Pentland and was elected to represent the constituency in the Scottish Parliament. She was returned at the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The e ...

. She has served as

of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee since 2021.

Personal life

Adamson married John Adamson, a headteacher, in 2002. They both have one son, with her husband also having his own three children. She has a dog called Coco and enjoys reading and listening to music.

References

External links

*
Clare Adamson's Party Website

Lanarkshire International Children's Games 2011

Scottish Accident Prevention Council

STV 2010 General Election profile

''Wishaw Press'' councillors' expenses review 2008–2009

''Wishaw Press'' councillors' expenses review 2009–2010

STV Local
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Clare 1967 births Living people People from Motherwell Councillors in North Lanarkshire Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Scottish National Party councillors 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 Female members of the Scottish Parliament Fellows of the British Computer Society Politicians from North Lanarkshire Women councillors in Scotland