Linda Fabiani (born 14 December 1956) HonFRIAS OSSI FCIH is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer in 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 ...

from 2016 to 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 th ...

(SNP), she 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 add ...

(MSP) for the

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

constituency 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 ...

until her retirement in

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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. She was previously a regional member of the

for the Central Scotland region from

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

until

Early life and career

Fabiani was born in

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 ...

to a family with both Scottish and Italian roots. Prior to entering politics, she worked as director of East Kilbride Housing Association.

Political career

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 2007 elections, Fabiani unsuccessfully contested the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

constituency of

finishing as runner up to

Andy Kerr Andrew Kerr (1878–1969) was an American football coach. Andrew or Andy Kerr may also refer to: *Andrew Kerr (Australian politician) Andrew Taylor Kerr (10 November 1837 – 15 November 1907) was an Australian politician. He was born at Gr ...

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 ...

, reducing Labour's majority from 6,499 in 1999 to 1,972 in 2007. However, being listed at number five in the SNP regional list for Central Scotland in 1999, she gained a seat in the newly-established Scottish Parliament. She told the ''

Dundee Courier ''The Courier'' (known as ''The Courier & Advertiser'' between 1926 and 2012) is a newspaper published by DC Thomson in Dundee, Scotland. As of 2013, it is printed in six regional editions: Dundee, Angus & The Mearns, Fife, West Fife, Perths ...

'' in January 2021 that she had been surprised to get elected at her first attempt. Following the election of 2003, she served as the SNP's Deputy Spokesman on Communities inside the Scottish Parliament and chaired the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee. In 2007, Fabiani was made

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

of the

Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity The Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity ( it, Stella della solidarietà italiana ) was founded as a national order by the first President of the Italian Republic, Enrico De Nicola, in 1947, to recognise civilian and military expatriates or ...

by Italy in recognition of her work promoting links between Scotland and Italy. With the SNP taking control of the Scottish Government after the 2007 election, Fabiani was appointed

Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, commonly referred to as the Economy Secretary or the Culture Secretary, was a Scottish Government Cabinet position with responsibility for the economy and culture of Scotland. The role w ...

. Half way through the SNP's term, she was replaced as minister by Mike Russell. In 2009, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) is the professional body for architects in Scotland. History Previously the (lapsed) Architectural Institute of Scotland, it was re-founded in 1916 as the Incorporation of Architects ...

. She is a former Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing of Scotland. In May 2011, in the first SNP gain of the election, Fabiani took the

constituency from

. With Kerr widely touted as a potential successor to Labour leader

Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having ...

, this was one of the major SNP victories of the election. On 21 June 2011 she became the Convener of the Scotland Bill committee. After her election, she set up a constituency office in 1/3 Strathmore House in the town centre of East Kilbride. After being re-elected in the 2016 election, Fabiani was elected as one of the two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament. In August 2020, Fabiani announced that she would not be seeking re-election in 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 ...

. In her final term, Fabiani was chosen as convenor of the Scottish Parliamentary inquiry into the government's mishandling of claims made against

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

References

External links

*
Linda Fabiani MSP – Personal Website

TheyWorkForYou.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiani, Linda 1956 births Living people Politicians from Glasgow Scottish people of Italian descent Scottish republicans Scottish National Party 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 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament Ministers of the Scottish Government Women members of the Scottish Government 20th-century Scottish women politicians People educated at Hyndland Secondary School Fellows of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow