Mairi Gougeon

Mairi Angela Gougeon (née Evans; born 23 April 1985)[1][2] is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands since 2021[lower-alpha 2]. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Angus North and Mearns since 2016.

Mairi Gougeon
MSP
Official portrait, 2023
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands[lower-alpha 1]
Assumed office
20 May 2021
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Humza Yousaf
Preceded byFergus Ewing
Minister for Public Health and Sport
In office
21 December 2020 – 20 May 2021
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byJoe FitzPatrick
Succeeded byMaree Todd
Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment
In office
27 June 2018 – 21 December 2020
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byBen Macpherson
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Angus North and Mearns
Assumed office
6 May 2016
Preceded byNigel Don
Majority3,509 (9.9%)
Personal details
Born
Mairi Evans

(1985-04-23) 23 April 1985
Brechin, Angus, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen

A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, Gougeon was elected to the Angus Council in the 2007 Scottish local elections. She represented the Brechin and Edzell ward and was the council's spokesperson on economic development. She stood down in the 2017 election, following her election to the Scottish Parliament the previous year.

In 2018, she was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, before being appointed Minister for Public Health and Sport in 2020. Gougeon was re-elected in 2021 and was promoted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to the Scottish Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands; she was re-appointed by new First Minister Humza Yousaf in 2023, while also gaining the land reform portfolio.

Early life

Education and early career

Mairi Angela Evans was born on 23 April 1985 in Brechin in Angus. She was educated at Kilgraston School where she had a scholarship.[3] She attended the University of Aberdeen from 2003 to 2007, graduating with a Master of Arts in history.[4] From 2002 to 2010, she worked as Senior Assistant in the National Trust for Scotland.[4]

Early political years

After graduating from university, Gougeon was elected to Angus Council in the 2007 council election, representing the Brechin and Edzell ward.[5] She became convener of infrastructure services, then later the development and enterprise convener.[6][7]

Gougeon was re-elected in 2012 election.[8] She was a member of Angus Council, who caused the eviction of 20 families from South Links Caravan Park, Montrose in 2015, following an inward investment decision in 2011, granting a third party an unsecured loan of £275,000.[9][10]

Gougeon was chairwoman of the East of Scotland European Consortium.[4] She did some political work in Brussels.[11] She represented Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on the executive of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR).[12] She resigned as a councillor in 2017, following her election to the Scottish Parliament.[13]

Member of the Scottish Parliament

In August 2015, Gougeon was selected to be the SNP candidate for the Angus North and Mearns constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, replacing the incumbent MSP Nigel Don.[14][15] On 6 May 2016, she was elected to the Scottish Parliament and was sworn in on 13 May.

Junior minister

She was appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment in June 2018.[16] In December 2020, she succeeded Joe FitzPatrick as Minister for Public Health and Sport after he had resigned due to an increase in drug deaths in Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands

At the May 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Gougeon was re-elected as the MSP for Angus North and Mearns. On 19 May 2021, she was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet, as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands in Nicola Sturgeon's new government.[17]

Personal life

Gougeon married Paris-born Baptiste Gougeon in July 2017.[18]

Footnotes
  1. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands from May 2021 until March 2023.
  2. Known as the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands from May 2021 until March 2023.

References
  1. Jenny Gilruth [@JennyGilruth] (23 April 2018). "Happy 33rd Birthday to my favourite little Nugget, Madame @MairiGougeon! Hope you've had a fabulous day. Here are some key moments from our political lives thus far x" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Mairi Gougeon [@MairiGougeon] (23 April 2019). "Had an early birthday with my family at the weekend, best thing about it getting the chance to be with family of course, but also 1. My husband got me THE BEST CAKE from Best Baked Goods in Scotland winner! @cakes_baba! 2. My husband thinks I'm a year younger than I actually am" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "No Eton Mess Drop in MSPs who are privately educated". Herald on Sunday. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  4. LinkedIn. "Mairi Gougeon".
  5. "Angus". The Herald. Glasgow. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  6. "Plan to help local business prosper". Brechin Advertiser. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  7. Argo, Andrew (23 October 2014). "Journeycall's contact centre move to bring 100 jobs to Arbroath". The Courier. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  8. "SNP take two of the three Brechin seats". Brechin Advertiser. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  9. http://archive.angus.gov.uk/ccmeetings/minutes2011/AngusCouncil/15-12-11.pdf
  10. "New make-up of Angus Council revealed". Montrose Review. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  11. "Councillor aiming for Holyrood". Brechin Advertiser. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  12. Davidson, Jenni (10 December 2015). "European young councillors meet in Edinburgh". Holyrood. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  13. "MSPs with Dual Mandates" (PDF). www.parliament.scot. Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  14. McColm, Euan (23 August 2015). "The battles before Holyrood election". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  15. "Second SNP MSP ditched by own supporters ahead of Holyrood election". STV News. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  16. "Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment". Scottish Government. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  17. "Nicola Sturgeon appoints new health and education secretaries". BBC News. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021.
  18. Kuc, Morag (2 August 2017). "Mairi Evans to bring French connection to Scottish Parliament". Mearns Leader. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
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