Mairi Angela Gougeon ( née Evans; born 23 April 1985) is a Scottish politician who has served as

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, commonly referred to as the Rural Affairs Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for rural Scotland and its islands, agriculture, for ...

since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Angus North and Mearns 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 graduate of the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, Gougeon was elected to the

Angus Council Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include ag ...

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 unitar ...

. She represented the Brechin and Edzell ward and was the council's spokesperson on economic development. She stood down in the 2017 election, following her election to the Scottish Parliament the previous year. In 2018, she was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, before being appointed Minister for Public Health and Sport in 2020. Gougeon was re-elected 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 ...

and was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet as

Early life

Education and early career

Mairi Angela Evans was born on 23 April 1985 in

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

in Angus. She was educated at Kilgraston School where she had a scholarship. She attended the

from 2003 to 2007, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in history. From 2002 to 2010, she worked as Senior Assistant in the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organi ...

Early political years

After graduating from university, Gougeon was elected to

in the 2007 council election, representing the Brechin and Edzell ward. She became convener of infrastructure services, then later the development and enterprise convener. Gougeon was re-elected in

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: ...

. She was a member of Angus Council, who caused the eviction of 20 families from South Links Caravan Park, Montrose in 2015, following an inward investment decision in 2011, granting a third party an unsecured loan of £275,000. Gougeon was chairwoman of the East of Scotland European Consortium. She did some political work in Brussels. She represented

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities. History Formed in 1975, COSLA exists to promote and protect the intere ...

(COSLA) on the executive of the

Council of European Municipalities and Regions The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is the largest organisation of local and regional governments in Europe. Its members are 60 national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from 41 countries that are part of th ...

(CEMR). She resigned as a councillor in 2017, following her election to the Scottish Parliament.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

In August 2015, Gougeon was selected to be the SNP candidate for the Angus North and Mearns constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, replacing the incumbent MSP Nigel Don. On 6 May 2016, she was elected to the Scottish Parliament and was sworn in on 13 May.

Junior minister

She was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment in June 2018. In December 2020,

Joe FitzPatrick Joseph Martin FitzPatrick (born 1 April 1967) is a Scottish politician who is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City West since the 2007. He is Convener of the Sc ...

was sacked by Nicola Sturgeon after a rise in drug deaths in Scotland, Gougeon succeeded FitzPatrick as Minister for Public Health and Sport on the 21 December 2020.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands

At the

May 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 ele ...

, Gougeon was re-elected as the MSP for Angus North and Mearns. On 19 May 2021, she was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet, as

in Nicola Sturgeon's new government.

Personal life

Gougeon married Paris-born Baptiste Gougeon in July 2017.

References

External links

*
profile
on SNP website
profile
on Angus Council {{DEFAULTSORT:Gougeon, Mairi 1985 births Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Members of the Scottish Cabinet Scottish National Party councillors Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People from Angus, Scotland Female members of the Scottish Parliament