Paul Richard William Wheelhouse (born 22 June 1970) is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands from 2018 to 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2011 until 2021 and Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy in the Scottish Government from May 2016 to June 2018.

Early life

Wheelhouse was born in 1970 in

Dundonald, County Down Dundonald () is a large settlement and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of Belfast and is often considered a suburb of the city. It is home to the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald International Ice Bowl, Dundonald Omnipark ( ...

. He was raised in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, where he attended the independent, fee-paying

Stewart's Melville College Stewart's Melville College (SMC) is an independent day and boarding school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Classes are all boys in the 1st to 5th years and co-educational in Sixth (final) year. It has a roll of about 750 pupils. The school is twinned w ...

. He graduated with a

Scottish MA The degree of Master of Arts (MA; , ) in Scotland is an undergraduate degree. The degree can be either a three-year general or four-year ''Honours degree'' in humanities or social sciences, awarded by one of several institutions. Chiefly, the ...

degree in Economic Science from 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 ...

and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He is a former member of the Conservative Party and was active in the

University of Aberdeen Conservative and Unionist Association The Aberdeen University Conservative and Unionist Association (AUCUA) is a student Conservative association formed in 1881. It is the third oldest Conservative student association in the United Kingdom. It comprises an executive committee that co ...

. Before entering politics, Wheelhouse worked as an economist, specialising in higher education, government policy and impact assessments for private capital projects.

Scottish Parliament

Wheelhouse was the SNP candidate in the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency in the 2010 United Kingdom general election. Wheelhouse then stood for election in the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency 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 ...

. He finished second to Conservative

John Lamont John Robert Lamont (born 15 April 1976) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician and solicitor who has served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk since 2017. Lamont previo ...

in that contest, but was elected to the Scottish Parliament on the South of Scotland regional list. In September 2012, Wheelhouse became Minister for Environment and Climate Change, replacing

Stewart Stevenson James Alexander Stewart Stevenson (''Gaelic: Seamus Alasdair Stiùbhart MacSteafain''; born 15 October 1946) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and Minister for Env ...

. When Nicola Sturgeon became

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

in November 2014, he was appointed to the position of Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs. In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Wheelhouse stood for the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency and came second, then was returned to the Parliament by the regional list. He contested the same seat 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 ...

, but lost the constituency contest and was not returned to Parliament by the regional list.

References

External links

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profile
on SNP website {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheelhouse, Paul 1970 births Living people People from Dundonald, County Down People educated at Stewart's Melville College Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Ministers of the Scottish Government