Tricia Marwick | |||||||||||||||||
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Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament | |||||||||||||||||
In office 11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016 | |||||||||||||||||
Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||
Deputy | |||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Alex Fergusson | ||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Ken Macintosh | ||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Patricia Lee 5 November 1953 Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||
Political party | Independent (2011–present) | ||||||||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Scottish National Party (1986–2011) | ||||||||||||||||
Spouse |
Frank Marwick (m. 1975) | ||||||||||||||||
Relations | Natalie McGarry (niece) | ||||||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Charity Public Affairs Officer | ||||||||||||||||
Patricia Marwick (née Lee; born 5 November 1953) is a Scottish politician who served as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2011 to 2016. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. Elected as a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she suspended her membership in 2011 upon her election as presiding officer, following the tradition of the presiding officer being nonpartisan.[2]
Born in Cowdenbeath and raised in Fife, she worked for Shelter Scotland before becoming a politician. In the first ever Scottish Parliament election, Marwick ran as an SNP candidate for the Central Fife constituency, but came second to Henry McLeish. Although she failed to win the seat in two elections, she was elected as an additional member for the Mid Scotland and Fife region. In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, she defeated Scottish Labour's Christine May, and was elected to serve as the MSP for Central Fife.
Following the 2011 election to the 4th Scottish Parliament, Marwick was elected to the newly drawn Mid Fife and Glenrothes constituency. With the SNP's outright majority, she was elected as the fourth Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. Marwick is the first woman to hold the position of office. As the Presiding Officer is a non-partisan role, she was forced to relinquish her party affiliation. She stood down from the Scottish Parliament in the 2016 election and the from 2016 to 2020, she served as chair of the NHS Fife board.