Member of the Scottish Parliament ( MSP )
Elaine Murray took which position from May 2011 to Mar 2016?
Elaine Murray Elaine Kildare Murray ( born 22 December 1954 ) is a Scottish Labour politician who has been the Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council since 2017 . Murray is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament ( MSP ) , having been MSP for Dumfries from 1999 to 2011 , and then for Dumfriesshire from 2011 to 2016 . At the 1999 , 2003 and 2007 elections , Murray increased her percentage share of the vote . She was Shadow Minister for the Environment in the Scottish Parliament . She lost her seat in 2016 . As of May 2017 , Murray is one of four councillors in Dumfries & Galloway who represent the Nith ward and was elected the Group Leader of Labour in the council . Background . Murray was born in 1954 in Hitchin , Hertfordshire , where her Scottish parents lived at the time . She was brought up in Edinburgh where she was a pupil at The Mary Erskine School and graduated with an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Cambridge . After graduating from Cambridge , Murray first worked in scientific research , and from 1990–93 was an associate lecturer for the Open University . She worked for Alex Smith , Member of the European Parliament . In 1994 Murray was elected as a Councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council and in 1995 to South Ayrshire Council , where she was Convenor of Educational Services . Member of the Scottish Parliament . Murray was elected as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dumfries Constituency following the first Scottish Parliamentary elections in May 1999 . She was re-elected in May 2003 and then again in May 2007 . Murray was appointed Deputy Minister for Tourism , Culture and Sport upon Jack McConnell becoming First Minister in 2001 , a post she held until 2003 . She has been a member of a number of Committees in the Scottish Parliament , including holding the post of Deputy Convenor of the Finance Committee between 2007 and 2008 . Under Wendy Alexanders leadership Dr Murray was Enterprise Spokesman and upon election of Iain Gray as Leader of the Labour Group in the Scottish Parliament , she was appointed Shadow Minister for the Environment . Murray was a member of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee as well as Convenor of the Cross Party Groups on Science and Technology and Civil Nuclear Energy . She was also Vice-Convenor of the Life Sciences and Animal Welfare Cross Party Groups . In September 2011 , Murray announced her candidacy for the deputy leadership of the Scottish Labour Party . She withdrew in early November after failing to gain enough nominations . She claimed she could have got the sufficient number of nominations but said it was clear the Deputy Leadership role would go to a Westminster MP . In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election , Murray lost her seat to Oliver Mundell , a Conservative . External links . - Personal website