Member of the Scottish Parliament
What was the position of Sarah Boyack between Jul 2015 and Jan 2016?
Sarah Boyack Sarah Herriot Boyack ( born 16 May 1961 ) is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament ( MSP ) for the Lothian region since 2019 , and previously from 2011 to 2016 . She formerly represented the Edinburgh Central constituency from 1999 to 2011 . Early life and career . Boyack was born in May 1961 in Glasgow and brought up in Edinburgh . Her father , Jim Boyack , was an important figure in the Labour Party and the campaign for Scottish devolution . She was educated at the state comprehensive Royal High School , Edinburgh , where she was one of the first female pupils . Starting in 1979 , Boyack studied Modern History and Politics at the University of Glasgow , graduating with a Scottish MA Honours degree . She became active in the Labour club , where she was a protégé of Margaret Curran . She was chair of the Labour club from 1981 until 1982 , and chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students from 1985 until 1986 . During her time at Glasgow , she was involved in supporting the twinning with Bir Zeit University in the West Bank . After graduating , she gained a Diploma in Town and Country Planning at Heriot-Watt University . Boyack worked as a town planner in the London Borough of Brent then as a strategic planner in Central Regional Council in Stirling . She then became a lecturer at the School of Planning and Housing at Heriot-Watt University and was Convener of the Scottish Branch of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1997 . Political career . Member of the Scottish Parliament : 1999–2016 . Boyack was elected to the new Scottish Parliament in the 1999 election for the Edinburgh Central constituency . She was Minister for Transport and the Environment in the Scottish Executive from 1999 until 2000 . Then , she was Minister for Transport and Planning from 2000 until 2001 , during which time she introduced one of Scottish Labours flagship policies of free bus travel for people over 60 and disabled people . Re-elected for her constituency in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election , Boyack was elected by MSPs as Convener of the Scottish Parliament Environment and Rural Development Committee in June 2003 . In this role , she received the RSPB Goldcrest Award in November 2004 for the most outstanding contribution to the development of environmental policy in Scotland since devolution . Later , in December 2005 , she was named the Scottish Renewables Best Politician . She stood down from the committee in January 2007 , when she returned to the Scottish Executive as Deputy Minister for the Environment and Rural Development . Boyack lost her Edinburgh Central constituency seat in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election to Marco Biagi of the Scottish National Party ( SNP ) . However , she was elected on the Lothian regional list as one of seven additional members . Following a landslide victory by the SNP in the election , Boyack co-chaired a review of the Labour Party in Scotland with Jim Murphy , commissioned by Ed Miliband in May 2011 and which reported back in Autumn of that year . On 28 October 2014 , Boyack declared she would stand in the upcoming election to become the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party . She came third to Jim Murphy and Neil Findlay with 9.24% of the vote . Outside the Scottish Parliament : 2016–2019 . Boyack again contested the Edinburgh Central seat in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election , but was defeated by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson , who stood for the same constituency . Boyack was also placed third on the Lothian regional list of Labour candidates behind Kezia Dugdale and Neil Findlay , but did not return to Holyrood following the election since Labour won only two list seats . In February 2017 , Boyack was appointed as Head of Public Affairs at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations , the membership body for social housing providers in Scotland . Return following Kezia Dugdales resignation : 2019–present . On 30 April 2019 , it was announced Boyack would return to the Scottish Parliament as a list MSP , following Kezia Dugdales decision to vacate her seat in the summer . As an unsuccessful Labour candidate on the Lothian regional list in 2016 , Boyack was the next person on the list if a seat was vacated . In September 2019 , Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard appointed her as Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Local Government . Boyack nominated Anas Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election . Personal life . Boyack married former long-term partner Andrew Walters in December 2000 . They had planned to marry in the October but postponed the wedding due to the death of Donald Dewar . The couple divorced in 2003 and they had no children together . External links . - sarahboyack.com Constituency website - 19 March 2011 Speech on environment and rural affairs at the Scottish Labour website - Sarah Boyack Biography at the Scottish Labour website - theyworkforyou.com - Voting Record — Sarah Boyack MSP , Edinburgh Central - Scottish Federation of Housing Associations Staff page of Scottish Federation of Housing Associations