Complex sentence: Previously a self-employed chartered accountant and financial adviser, he was a councillor in Inverclyde from 1977 to 1999 before he was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the first election for the institution.
Split into simpler sentences: Previously a self-employed chartered accountant and financial adviser, he was a councillor in Inverclyde from 1977 to 1999. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament at the first election for the institution.