Susan Deacon

Education

Deacon attended Musselburgh Grammar School, where she was head girl and active in inter-schools debating. She studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an MA (Hons) in Social Policy and Politics in 1987 and later an MBA in 1992. She was vice president of Edinburgh University Students' Association, and chair of Scottish Labour Students.

Early career

Deacon's early career was in local government where she worked for seven years in research and management roles. After a spell in management consultancy and training in the private sector, she became director of MBA programmes at the Edinburgh Business School, at Heriot-Watt University, which included managing Scotland's first Consortium MBA programme for companies. Deacon was involved in the creation of the Business School as a new graduate school within the university.

Meanwhile, she rose through Labour ranks serving on the Scottish Labour Party's National Executive and was a founder member of the pro-devolution pressure group, Scottish Labour Action.

Member of Scottish Parliament

Deacon was elected to the Scottish Parliament as MSP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh in May 1999 and, though widely tipped for ministerial office, her appointment by First Minister Donald Dewar as Scotland’s first cabinet Minister for Health and Community Care came as a surprise to many. She had been education spokesperson in Dewar's election campaign team and had been initially rejected as a candidate by Scottish Labour's controversial vetting process, eventually becoming the only person to appeal successfully. Despite this rocky start, Deacon gained respect in the new Parliament and was regarded as one of Labour's most effective performers - and was tipped as a possible future First Minister. In 1999, she won Frontbencher of the Year in the Herald's inaugural Scottish Politician of the Year Awards, and was nominated alongside Donald Dewar and Alex Salmond for that year's Scottish Politician of the Year accolade.

Henry McLeish reappointed Deacon as Health Minister when he took over as First Minister following the death of Donald Dewar in November 2000 and she continued until McLeish’s resignation in November 2001. Deacon was offered a further Cabinet position by incoming First Minister Jack McConnell in November 2001 but, by then pregnant with her second child, decided instead to leave Government and go to the backbenches.

During her time as Health Minister, Deacon led major changes in the governance and leadership of the National Health Service in Scotland and championed reforms in child health, mental health and older people's care. She was responsible for the first Scottish Health Plan.

A critic of the flagship policy of free personal care, she argued against its introduction saying future costs were unknown and may not be sustainable – a view rejected by the Scottish Parliament. She won plaudits for her strong stance against militant anti-abortion campaigners, though was criticised by the Roman Catholic Church for her position on issues such as teenage pregnancy and contraception.

As a backbench MSP, Deacon was regarded as a thoughtful and independent voice, served on several Parliamentary Committees, including Enterprise and Audit. She co-founded and chaired the Cross Party Group on Sexual Health and was involved in work on reproductive health and HIV/Aids both in the UK and abroad. The only Scottish member of the RSA UK Commission on Illegal Drugs, Communities and Public Policy, Deacon was a critic of Government drugs policy. Her opposition to the Iraq War won her support among Labour Party members and the Scottish public, but left relationships strained with parliamentary colleagues. Deacon was re-elected as an MSP in 2003, securing the largest Labour majority in Edinburgh, and had been selected to fight her Edinburgh East and Musselburgh seat again in the 2007 election but in August 2006, she announced her decision to stand down from the Scottish Parliament. Deacon said she had had enough of the ‘raw tribalism of party politics’ and that she wanted to 'move on to seek new challenges and to channel my energies in other ways.'

Career after Parliament

Deacon stood down from the Scottish Parliament in 2007, later leaving the Labour Party, although she has continued to be engaged in wider public policy debate as an independent commentator. She has spoken widely on strategic leadership and change, arguing for greater co-operation across political and sectoral boundaries and less reliance on 'top-down policies'.

In April 2007 she was announced as Professor of Social Change at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She was later appointed Honorary Professor in the School of Social and Political Science, at the University of Edinburgh. In September 2012, she was appointed as Assistant Principal Corporate Engagement and Professorial Fellow at the university. Her work involves developing the university's relationships with external stakeholders and encouraging greater collaboration between academia, policymakers and business.

In 2010, Deacon was appointed by Michael Russell, MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning as the Scottish Government's "Early Years Champion". Her report, Joining the Dots, received widespread interest and is credited with influencing policy and investment in children's early years development and education.

Deacon has been involved with the global energy group, Iberdrola, since its acquisition of ScottishPower Ltd in 2007, serving first on its UK Advisory Board and then as a non-executive director of ScottishPower Renewables Ltd. She was chairman of ScottishPower Renewables from 2010-2012, joining the main board of ScottishPower Ltd as a non-executive director in 2012 and from 2009 until 2014 was a trustee of Fundación Iberdrola, the Spanish group's global educational and charitable arm.

Deacon has served on a number of other boards and advisory groups, including the Traverse Theatre, Pfizer UK Foundation, Dewar Arts Awards Trust, and the strategic review of the National Trust for Scotland. From 2008-2012, she was founding chairperson of the Hibernian Community Foundation – the charity set up by Hibernian Football Club. Currently, she is a non-executive director of Scottish Power Ltd and Lothian Buses Ltd, a governor of the Institute of Occupational Medicine, and a fellow of the RSA. In November 2015, she was appointed chair of the Institute of Directors in Scotland.

Awards and honours

Deacon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to business, education, and public service.

Personal life

Deacon lives in Prestonpans, East Lothian with her partner John Boothman and their two children.