Maureen Elizabeth Watt (born 23 June 1951) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and former Minister for Mental Health in the Scottish Government. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) representing the constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine from 2011 to 2021 when she retired, having previously served as a regional member for North East Scotland from 2006 until 2011.

Early life

Born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to a farming family, she was educated at

Keith Grammar School Keith Grammar School is a secondary school in, Moray, Scotland. It was built in 1965 by the Educational Committee of Banffshire County Council. the school roll was 450 pupils. It is administered by the Moray Council Education and Social Care Depa ...

and studied at

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

, graduating with an Honours degree in Politics. She went on to gain a

Postgraduate Certificate in Education The Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGCertEd) is a one- or two-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. In ...

from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

Early career

She was a teacher in Social Studies at a Comprehensive school in England from 1974–1976 and moved back to Scotland to work in the oil sector. In the mid-1990s she worked as Rector’s Assessor for

Allan Macartney William John Allan Macartney (17 February 1941 – 25 August 1998) was a Scottish politician who served as a Scottish National Party MEP for the North East Scotland constituency between the 1994 European Parliament election and his sudden deat ...

when he was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

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 ...

. In 1998 she was appointed to the Independent Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament. She was a Councillor on

Grampian Regional Council Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...

and had served on the Visiting Committee of Aberdeen Prison.

Parliamentary career

Watt stood a candidate in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election but was not elected. Before the term ended,

Richard Lochhead Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who is Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Moray since 2006. He was prev ...

resigned his seat to contest the Moray by-election. The next person on the SNP list from the 2003 election had been Alasdair Allan but he refused his place in Parliament as he had secured the SNP nomination for the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

for the 2007 election. The next person on the list was Maureen Watt, who took up the place. Watt was sworn in as MSP on 19 April 2006, becoming the first MSP to swear their oath of allegiance in

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

. Watt made her maiden speech on 20 April 2006 on the subject of Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation. With a gap of only 17 hours 25 minutes since taking the Parliamentary oath she took over the record for the shortest wait from John Scott. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election, Watt was appointed as the Minister for Schools and Skills. She left this office on 10 February 2009. In May 2011, Watt was elected as SNP MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine on a 15.77% swing from the Liberal Democrats. She was Convener of the Scottish Parliament Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee from 15 June 2011. On 21 November 2014 she was appointed

Minister of Public Health The Minister for Public Health and Women's Health is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. The minister is not a member of the Scottish Cabinet, however, they report to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care. ...

, succeeding Michael Matheson who was promoted to the Cabinet. In May 2016, Watt was re-elected for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. On 18 May 2016 she was moved to the post of Minister for Mental Health in a reshuffle.

Family

Watt is the daughter of former SNP MP (1974–1979)

Hamish Watt Hamish Watt (27 December 1925 – 12 April 2014) was a Scottish politician, farmer and writer. He was the SNP MP for Banffshire from 1974 to 1979, and was later Rector of the University of Aberdeen and a councillor. Early life He was born on ...

. She is married with two children. One of them,

Stuart Donaldson Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson (16 December 1812 – 11 January 1867) was the first Premier of the Colony of New South Wales. Early life Donaldson was born in London, England. He entered his father's firm at the age of 15 and was sent first t ...

, served as an SNP MP for Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine in the British Parliament between 2015 and 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Maureen 1951 births Living people People educated at Keith Grammar School Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Members of the Scottish Parliament for Aberdeen constituencies Scottish National Party MSPs 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 Ministers of the Scottish Government Women members of the Scottish Government