Alex Rowley is the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 15 August 2015 and a member of the Scottish Parliament for Cowdenbeath, elected at the Cowdenbeath by-election in January 2014.
Education
Born in Dunfermline and raised in Kelty, he was educated at Street Columba"s High School Dunfermline and Newbattle Abbey College Dalkeith, and at Edinburgh University graduating with an Master of Arts Honours in Sociology and Politics, and an Master of Science in community education.
Career
Rowley was General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party from May 1998 to May 1999. He was first elected to Fife Regional Council in 1990 when he was Chairman of Finance, and he later became the first leader of the new Fife Council, a position he returned to in 2012 until his election to the Scottish Parliament in 2014. Prior to his election as an Managing Successful Programmes he was a Fife councillor (re-elected in 2007) and Labour Council Group Leader.
He worked as an education official with the Trades Union Congress and worked for five years as an assistant, election agent and constituency manager to Gordon Brown.
He has been considered Gordon Brown"s right-hand man and protégé. He stood in the 2011 Scottish election as a Labour candidate for Dunfermline.
He declared his candidacy for the Scottish Labour Party"s 2015 deputy leadership election, and was elected on the 15th of August 2015.