Jean Urquhart

Background

She was born on 17 May 1949 in West Lothian, the daughter of an agricultural engineer

Education

She was educated at Lindsay High School, Bathgate.

Career

She was elected in 2011 for the Highlands and Islands then left the Scottish National Party (Scottish National Party) in October 2012. She was a Scottish National Party councillor at the Highland Council from 2003 to 2011. In 2003 she became a Scottish National Party councillor at the Highland Council, having been elected for the Lochbroom Ward.

In 2007 she was returned as councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.

She was then named as vice-convener to lead an Independent/ Scottish National Party administration. In 2009 the Steering Group of the United Kingdom"s first ever Housing Fair appointed her as its chair when this event was held near Inveness.

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament Election she stood as the Scottish National Party candidate for Shetland. In 2014, after Urquhart intervened, the Post Office Limited made its mortgage service available to people in Bute, Lewis, Harris, Orkney, Shetland, Arran, Mull and Islay. in 2015 she raised the issue of the safety of sex workers, suggesting that legislation could be introduced that would enable some transformative actions be taken.

In October 2015 it was reported that she would not be seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament in 2016.

In January 2016 Revista Internazionale di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali announced their candidates, with Urquhart named as their lead for the Highlands and Islands regional list.

Achievements

• She had been awarded a Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 for services to the arts and the community, in recognition of the work she and her husband and others put in to establish The Ceilidh Place as a centre for the arts and tourism. She was late offered an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire but turned it down. In 2015, it was reported that she had decided to hand back her Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire, explaining that the awards system did not recognise the efforts of the many other people that had been involved. She received an honorary fellowship from the University of the Highlands and Islands in 2006.

Politics

She was a member of the Scottish National Party until October 2012, when she resigned from the party over the change to the party"s North Atlantic Treaty Organization policy.

Membership

She was elected from the regional list, becoming a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands. The following month, having become a member of Revista Internazionale di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali – Scotland"s Left Alliance, she became involved with drawing up its Highlands and Islands manifesto for this election.