Jeane Freeman

Early life

Freeman was born in Ayr, the daughter of an aircraft fitter and a nurse. She was raised in South Ayrshire. Freeman attended the Glasgow College of Technology and studied sociology and politics.

Freeman was a leading member of the Communist Party's student wing and in 1979 she became the first woman to chair the National Union of Students Scotland. In 1983 Freeman was a member of the Communist party's Congress Arrangements Committee which oversaw the running of that years party congress.

Executive roles

In 1987, Freeman established Apex Scotland, a criminal justice employment organisation for which she served as Chief Executive for twelve years. She was appointed as a member of the Parole Board for Scotland in 2006 and has also played roles on the Scottish Police Services Authority Board. She was appointed as a Lay Member to the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, commencing November 2011 for a four-year period.

In 2008 she was appointed to board of the National Waiting Times Centre, the special health board that runs the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. In January 2015 she was reappointed as the Chair to the National Waiting Times Centre Board. In March 2016 she stepped down from this role.

Political career

Later Freeman joined the Scottish Labour Party and was a member until the late 1990s. Between 2001 and 2005, Freeman served as a senior political adviser to First Minister Jack McConnell. In this role, she worked on the Scottish Budget, the government's legislative programme, relations with the UK government, and in the Finance, Health and Justice portfolios. She left the position voluntarily, though there were reports of a row between Freeman and John Elvidge, which were dismissed by the Scottish Executive. Months after she left, the Scottish Executive hired her consultancy firm, Freeman Associates, in a consultancy capacity, generating accusations of cronyism.

Freeman was active in the campaign for Scottish independence since the announcement of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. In May 2012 it was announced that she was a part of Yes Scotland. She is a founding member of Women for Independence and spoke at a meeting of the Labour for Independence group. During the referendum campaign she made appearances on television programmes as a commentator.

In November 2014, when the SNP voted in favour of allowing non-members to stand as their candidates in the general elections, Nicola Sturgeon named Freeman as an example of the sort of person that might be chosen by a constituency branch. In August 2015, Freeman was selected to be the SNP candidate for the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency in the 2016 Scottish elections.

In April 2016, former Labour politician Brian Wilson covered the topic of Freedom of information (FOI) requests in his column in The Scotsman, observing that her company Freeman Associates had recently been the subject of a request to the Scottish Government. The Ministers had responded to the applicant that the cost of replying to this specific request would exceed £600 and they were therefore not obliged to comply. Following a review, the applicant remained dissatisfied and applied to the Information Commissioner for a decision.

Awards and honours

In the 1996 Birthday Honours, she was awarded an OBE for her services to the rehabilitation of offenders.