Hugh O'Donnell (politician)
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Independent (March 2011- May 2011)
Hugh O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| In office 3 May 2007 – 22 March 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 May 1952 |
| Party | Scottish Liberal Democrats (until March 2011) Independent (March 2011- May 2011) |
| Spouse | Deceased 25 February 2013 |
| Children | 2 |
Hugh O'Donnell (born 1 May 1952) is a former Scottish politician.
O'Donnell was elected in 2007 as a Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region. He was previously an aide to the former MSP Donald Gorrie.
He resigned from the party on 27 March 2011 unhappy with the direction of his party and the UK Coalition Government in Westminster.[1] He sat as an independent MSP until the May 2011 Scottish Parliament election, when he stood as an independent candidate and was not re-elected, having won only 821 votes.[2]
O'Donnell was educated at Falkirk College of Further Education and Queen Margaret College (in partnership with Southern Connecticut State University) and has an HND and a BA (Hons) in Communications.
Prior to his election he worked in retail, property, as a college lecturer, a constituency assistant to Donald Gorrie MSP, and as a community care professional.
He contested the Scottish Parliament election in 1999 for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, coming a distant third. He was one of only eight Scots chosen by the United Nations to supervise the first ever free elections in the former Yugoslavian province of Kosovo in 2001.[citation needed]
Party positions
O'Donnell was a member of both the Scottish and Federal policy committees and held the position of Vice Convenor and Treasurer of the Central Scotland Liberal Democrats.
He was once the Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy Spokesperson on Education and Young People.