Christine Grahame

Christine Grahame (formerly Creech; born 9 September 1944) is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021.

Christine Grahame was born on 9 September 1944 in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, to a Scottish father and English mother.

Her maternal grandfather was Welsh.

Grahame was brought up in Edinburgh, attending Boroughmuir High School.

She attained a Scottish Master of Arts degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1965 and gained her Diploma of Education from Moray House College of Education in 1966.

After graduating, Grahame worked as a secondary teacher of English in a number of schools in Fife and Dumfries and Galloway.

Grahame joined the Scottish National Party in 1970.

In 1984, she graduated from the Edinburgh University again, but this time with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

After gaining Diploma in Legal Practice she worked as a solicitor.

After a period as a housewife, she returned to Edinburgh University as a mature student where she earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1984 and a Diploma in Legal Practice in 1985, subsequently practising as a solicitor at a number of law firms until her election as an MSP in 1999.

Grahame was the SNP's candidate for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale in the 1992 UK General election, but failed to win the seat.

Using her married name, Christine Creech, she was the SNP candidate at the 1992 General Election for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale.

In the 1994 European Parliament election, she contested the South of Scotland constituency, again unsuccessfully.

In 1999, she ran for equivalent constituency in the new Scottish Parliament.

Although she was unsuccessful, she was elected as an additional member of the South of Scotland region.

At the 1999 Scottish Parliament election she ran for the Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency.

Although she finished second in the constituency vote, she was elected on the SNP's South of Scotland regional list.

She later divorced and reverted to her maiden name.

From 2001 to 2003, she was Convener of the Justice Committee.

She contested Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale at the 2003 and 2007 elections, coming within 1,000 votes of victory on both occasions and being subsequently elected on the regional South of Scotland list.

Grahame ran for Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party in the 2004 leadership election, but was defeated by Nicola Sturgeon.

In 2004, Grahame ran as a candidate for deputy leadership of the SNP after deputy leader Roseanna Cunningham entered the contest to replace leader John Swinney.

She was defeated by Nicola Sturgeon.

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.

A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency since 2011, having previously represented the South of Scotland region from 1999 to 2011.

Born in Staffordshire, England, and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, she attended the University of Edinburgh and Moray House College of Education.

After graduating, Grahame worked as an English teacher in secondary schools.

In 2011, she was elected MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Grahame won the redrawn seat of Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, defeating former Liberal Democrat finance spokesman Jeremy Purvis.

Following her election, she was again selected as Convener of the Justice Committee for the session.

Following the 2016 election to the 5th Scottish Parliament, Grahame was elected Deputy Presiding Officer.

She held the position alongside Linda Fabiani from 2016 until 2021.

She has served on the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body since May 2021.

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Grahame held the seat, increasing her share of the vote to 45.1%.

Following the 2016 election, she was elected as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, serving alongside Linda Fabiani MSP.

Grahame was also re-elected as Convener of the Cross Party Group on Animal Welfare.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she went into self isolation as someone over 70 years old and therefore at more risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms.

In April 2020, Scottish Labour's Lewis Macdonald was elected as interim Deputy Presiding Officer in her absence.

In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election Grahame was re-elected as an MSP.