Speaker Sportlight, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP

Shirley-Anne Somerville was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in May 2021.

Educated at Kirkcaldy High School, she then graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a BA (Hons) in Economics and Politics (1996), followed by a Diploma in Housing Studies at the University of Stirling and a Diploma in Public Relations from Queen Margaret University College.

She has worked as a parliamentary researcher, a Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing, and as a Media and Campaigns Officer at the Royal College of Nursing.

Shirley-Anne was previously an MSP for the Lothians region from 2007 to 2011, and returned to the Scottish Parliament in 2016 as MSP for Dunfermline. Shirley-Anne Somerville was previously Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, and was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People in June 2018.

Register for our Conference