Christine Grahame
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Christine Grahame MSP
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 6 May 1999 |
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| Preceded by | new parliament |
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| Born | 9 September 1944 Burton-on-Trent, England |
| Birth name | Christine Grahame |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Christine Grahame (born 9 September 1944) is a Scottish politician. She is a current Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South of Scotland region, first elected in the 1999 election and subsequently re-elected in 2003 and 2007.
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[edit] Early life
Grahame was born on 9 September 1944 in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and brought up in Edinburgh. She attended the University of Edinburgh and after graduating worked as a teacher. She later returned to Edinburgh University as a mature student where she earned a law degree, and afterwards she practiced as a solicitor.
[edit] Political career
Grahame joined the Scottish National Party in the 1970.
Using her married name, Christine Creech, she was the SNP candidate at the 1992 General Election for Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale. In 1994 she stood for election to the European Parliament, again unsuccessfully.
At the 1999 Scottish Parliament election she fought Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale again. Although she finished second, her position on the SNP regional list took her to Holyrood, after which she divorced and reverted to her maiden name. She contested Tweedale, Ettrick and Lauderdale at both the 2003 and 2007 elections, coming within 1,000 votes of victory on both occasions.
In 2004, she ran as a candidate for Deputy Leader of the SNP after the resignation of Leader John Swinney propelled Deputy Leader Roseanna Cunningham into the contest to replace him. Grahame came second, between Nicola Sturgeon, the winner, and Fergus Ewing.
After the election she was reshuffled from chair of the Scottish Parliament's Health committee to Shadow Minister for Social Justice, generally seen by media commentators as an upwards shift. In June 2005, she was elected Honorary President of the Federation of Student Nationalists.
In 2009, she took up the cause of a National Library of Scotland employee debarred from what were held to be the excesses of tartan-festooned nationalism which decked his desk, dubbing it a "deliberate assault on our national flag".
Grahame is a supporter of Republic, a campaign to replace the British Monarchy with an elected head of state.[1]
[edit] Prison visitor
In May 2009, Grahame visited Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, in Greenock jail. After her visit, she told the press: "I found it quite upsetting. The man is obviously very ill and he is desperate to see his family - absolutely desperate to see his family - so, whatever it takes, that's the priority. He did tell me things I can't discuss with you. But I am absolutely more convinced than ever that there has been a miscarriage of justice."[2]
A month later, Grahame arranged a second meeting with the prisoner, Megrahi.[3]
[edit] Queen's Speech Scandal
In July 2009, Grahame snubbed Her Majesty the Queen by checking her emails rather than attending the royal speech at Holyrood to mark the tenth anniversary of Scottish devolution.
The move drew wide condemnation, from bloggers as well as from other MSPs, with Lord Foulkes remarking "She has a particular axe to grind here. [...] this is boring for Scotland — she just goes on and on." and Former Presiding officer George Reid describing the absence as "sad".
On BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning programme, she said: "I'm earning and working for my constituents far more than if I sit hypocritically in the chamber watching a monarch for an institution I do not support." [4]
[edit] External links
- Christine Grahame MSP Scottish Parliament webpage
- Christine Grahame SNP biography
- What's Happening in the Scottish Parliament biography from first term of Scottish Parliament
[edit] References
- ^ "Republic" website
- ^ Alison Campsie (2009-05-09). "Megrahi desparate to see his family, says MSP". Glasgow Herald. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2507025.0.Megrahi_desparate_to_see_his_family_says_MSP.php. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
- ^ "Lockerbie bomber 'in a quandary'". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/8102863.stm. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "MSP 'snubs' Queen to read e-mails". BBC Scotland. 2009-07-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8129979.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
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