Frank McAveety
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| Frank McAveety | |
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| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston |
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| In office 6 May 1999 – 5 May 2011 |
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| Preceded by | new constituency |
| Succeeded by | John Mason |
| Majority | 2,881 (19.5%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 July 1962 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish Labour Party |
| Alma mater | University of Strathclyde, University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | Teacher (English and History) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Frank McAveety (born 27 July 1962) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston from 1999 until 2011.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Frank McAveety was born 27 July 1962 in Glasgow and brought up in the city's Springburn district.[1][2] He was educated in Glasgow at All Saints Secondary School, followed by the University of Strathclyde, where in 1983 he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History.[1]
After receiving a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from St Andrew's College of Education (now part of the University of Glasgow) in 1984, McAveety began a career as a secondary school teacher. He taught English at schools across the South side and the East End of Glasgow. [1]
[edit] Political career
[edit] Glasgow councillor
He was a member of Glasgow District Council from 1988 until 1996 and served as Convenor of the Arts and Culture Committee, which developed the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art and initiated plans for the largescale development of Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow.
McAveety served as Leader of the Glasgow City Council from 1997 until 1999, during which time he initiated the largest ever investment package for Glasgow Secondary Schools in generations and pioneered the removal of housing debt for City Housing Tenants[citation needed]. He also established the first ever Local Authority Standards Committee, which was the influence for the establishment of the Standards Commission for Scotland by the Parliament a few years later.
[edit] Scottish Parliament
When elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Local Government in the Scottish Executive and served in that position until 2000. He returned to office as Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in May 2002. As Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport following the Scottish Parliamentary Election, 2003, he established the National Theatre of Scotland, which has resulted in the award-winning play, Black Watch and other productions. In his capacity as Sports Minister, McAveety advocated using sports investment as an opportunity for community regeneration and he oversaw Scotland's largest ever investment in national sports infrastructure, being developed in the East End of Glasgow. He also conducted a successful campaign to bring the headquarters of Sportscotland, the national sports agency, to the East End of Glasgow.
In 2004, he was mocked by a Sheriff Court judge after charges against two antiwar protesters were dropped after an altercation with the two protesters and a Labour council candidate.[3] McAveety had claimed they had put him through the "worst intimidation in his life" during an altercation in the southside of Glasgow. In dismissing the case however, Sheriff Graeme Warner said that McAveety "must have lived a very sheltered life" and had "completely blown his credibility".[4]
A week later, he was forced to apologise for misleading parliament when he turned up late for a ministerial question time claiming to have been unavoidably detained on ministerial business. It was later discovered that he was actually eating pie, beans and roast potatoes in the parliament canteen.[5] The incident was dubbed by some as "porky pie-gate" and is said to have led First Minister Jack McConnell to sack him from his cabinet later that year.[6]
McAveety was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament on 3 May 2007 after winning more than 50% of the vote in Glasgow Shettleston and until June 2010 served as Convener of the Public Petitions Committee and was the Scottish Labour Party's Shadow Minister for Sport.
On 16 June 2010 he resigned as Convenor of the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee after being overheard making comments about the physical appearance of a female member of the audience during a break in committee proceedings.[7] The comments were broadcast because he had not switched off his microphone.[8] The married MSP said: "There's a very attractive girl in the second row, dark... and dusky. We'll maybe put a wee word out for her."[7]
McAveety led a campaign in 2009 to establish access for children free of charge to professional football matches in Scotland. He is a Celtic and Scotland F.C supporter and regularly turns out for the Scottish Parliamentary Football Team who have been involved in a number of charity events that have received national media coverage.
Frank is an avid music fan, known for his knowledge of music. He has written the praises of David Bowie in the Scotsman newspaper and he used to write a regular feature for Holyrood Magazine, which celebrated and recommended his favourite albums. In April 2005, the Scotsman newspaper dubbed him the "daddy of parliamentary pop", in reference to his Chamber speech in support of a motion recognising Franz Ferdinand for their contribution to Scottish popular music and culture.
McAveety has served as a board member for the Arches Theatre Company in Glasgow, Enterprise Scotland and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. As of January 2009 he serves on the boards of the Scottish Youth Theatre and the Fields in Trust Scotland (formerly National Playing Fields Association).
In the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election, he lost his seat to the SNP's John Mason
[edit] Investigation
The Sunday Herald alleged that McAveety was removed from the approved list of Labour Party candidates for the 2012 Scottish local elections following a police probe into a complaint of alleged financial irregularities. However, this was not the case and he has been selected to fight a Council ward in the East end of Glasgow in next year's council elections.[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Mr Frank McAveety MSP", The Scottish Parliament website, http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/memberspages/frank_mcaveety/index.htm, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ "Bravestart Frank", Times Educational Supplement (TSL Education), 17 October 1997, http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=155535, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ McCabe, Grant (17 June 2004), "'Naive' Minister Mocked as Sheriff Clears War Protesters", The Scotsman (Johnston Press), http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Naive-minister-mocked-as-sheriff.2538162.jp, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ "Sheriff Ridicules Minister's Fear", BBC News (BBC), 16 June 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3813485.stm, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ "'Out to Lunch' Minister's Apology", BBC News (BBC), 24 June 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3837403.stm, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ "'Piegate' Minister Has His Chips", BBC News (BBC), 4 October 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3713520.stm, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ a b "Frank McAveety Quits Over 'Attractive Girl' Remark", BBC News (BBC), 16 June 2010, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10332299, retrieved 26 August 2010
- ^ Johnson, Simon (16 June 2010), "Labour MSP Resigns Over 'Dark and Dusky' Praise for Woman", The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7833130/Labour-MSP-resigns-over-dark-and-dusky-praise-for-woman.html, retrieved 12 February 2011
- ^ http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/politics/mcaveety-is-held-off-labour-list-amid-probe-1.1125712
| Scottish Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Constituency Created |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston 1999–2011 |
Succeeded by John Mason |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Mike Watson |
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport 2003–2004 |
Succeeded by Patricia Ferguson |
| Preceded by Hugh Henry |
Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care 2002–2003 |
Succeeded by Tom McCabe |
| Preceded by Office Created |
Deputy Minister for Local Government 1999–2000 |
Succeeded by Office Abolished |
