Gil Paterson

Gil Paterson MSP
Clydebank and Milngavie West of Scotland (2007-2011) Central Scotland (1999-2003)
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 May 2007
Convenor of SNP Scottish Parliamentary Group
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 May 2007
Preceded by	Stewart Stevenson
Personal details
Born	(1942-11-11) 11 November 1942 Glasgow
Political party	Scottish National Party

Gil Paterson, born in Glasgow, 1942 is the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency, which he gained from Labour on 5 May 2011.

Previously he had been an MSP for the West of Scotland region, having been elected on 3 May 2007. From 1999 to 2003 he was an MSP for Central Scotland.

Brought up in the North of Glasgow, Paterson attended Possilpark Secondary School, before building up his own business Gil's Motor Factors.^[1] He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) councillor in Strathclyde Regional Council and sat on the SNP's National Executive Committee, before being elected as one of five SNP MSPs for Central Scotland in the first election to the Scottish Parliament. During the first parliamentary term he sat on both the Local Government and Procedures committees in the Parliament.

Paterson lost his seat in Parliament when at the 2003 election only three SNP MSPs were returned for Central Scotland. He returned to running his business but stayed active in the SNP, becoming the party's Vice-Convenor in charge of Fundraising, a position he had held previously.

Paterson was one of the heaviest critics of the leadership style of John Swinney, and in the aftermath of the 2004 European election he openly called for Swinney's resignation, which happened shortly afterwards.^[2][3]

In 2006, Gil Paterson was selected to stand as candidate for the Clydebank and Milngavie Scottish Parliamentary constituency.

In the current session of the Scottish Parliament, Gil was elected as the SNP Group Convener. He is also a member of two Committees, 'European and External Relations' and 'Subordinate Legislation', the latter of which he is Deputy-Convener.

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