Name Alasdair Allan | ||
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Preceded by Himself (as Minister for Learning and Skills) Succeeded by Himself (as Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages) Office Member of the Scottish Parliament since 2007 Similar People Angus MacNeil, Frank Mulholland, William Wolfe Profiles | ||
Science matters dr alasdair allan msp scottish national party
Alasdair James Allan (born 6 May 1971) is the Scottish Government's Minister for International Development and Europe.
Contents
- Science matters dr alasdair allan msp scottish national party
- Dr alasdair allan msp supports the global goals
- Career
- The trouble with things alasdair allan
- References
Dr alasdair allan msp supports the global goals
Career
A native of Ashkirk, near Selkirk, Alasdair Allan attended Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and devoted his time and employment to the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Peterhead, working for Alex Salmond MP, the now former First Minister of Scotland, and he subsequently became assistant to Michael Russell MSP.
Allan was the SNP candidate for Gordon at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. As National Secretary of the SNP, he was responsible in July 2004 for the expulsion of Campbell Martin MSP from the party after Martin had claimed that there was a case for supporters of independence not voting SNP.
Alasdair Allan was next in line to become a list MSP for North East Scotland when Richard Lochhead resigned to fight the Moray by-election, however he decided instead to devote himself to contesting the Western Isles, a key Labour-SNP marginal seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election. He relocated to Lewis and resigned his post as SNP National Secretary. This move proved successful, as he was elected with 46.6% of the vote — a 5.4% swing from Labour.
In the 2011 Scottish Parliament General Election Allan again stood for the SNP in the now renamed seat of Na h-Eileanan an Iar and increased his majority, returning to Holyrood with 65.3% of the vote, an increase of 18.7% and a swing of 15.8% from Labour.
He is a speaker and strong supporter of Scottish Gaelic and Lowland Scots and holds a PhD on the latter. He authored the booklet Talking Independence, which sought to answer questions about Scottish independence, ranging from "What will I pay in tax?" to "Will I still be able to visit relatives in England?" and "Will we still get EastEnders?".
Allan voted against same-sex marriage in Scotland, saying he "favours the traditional definition of marriage" - in contrast to the position of the majority of the SNP government