Q Manivannan

Manivannan was born in the Tamil Nadu state of India. Their parents were Manivannan Dasarathi, a former tennis champion and owner of an advisory firm, and Rajachitra Manivannan, an academic. They attended Bhavan's Rajaji Vidyashram, a private school in Chennai.^[4]

They then studied liberal arts and humanities at O. P. Jindal Global University in Delhi, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 2018.^[5] While at O. P. Jindal, Manivannan was engaged as a senior research analyst at the Center for New Economic Studies and as an honorary fellow at the Center for Human Rights Studies. Their academic specialisation was "(un)gendered critiques of international legal frameworks for the protection of indigenous communities in multiple phases of armed conflict" and they were also involved with an academic study on sexual harassment policies in Indian universities.^[6] After graduation, Manivannan worked for an education consultancy firm in Delhi which coached India's elite to secure access to prestigious universities across the world, and has maintained close links with the firm since leaving India.^[4]

Manivannan moved to Ireland to undertake a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in international peace studies at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 2021.^[5] They moved to Scotland that same year to study for a doctorate in international relations at the University of St Andrews,^[1] funded by the ESRC research project "Archiving and (Re)imagining Caregiving as Peacebuilding in Third World Social Movements" from September 2022 to March 2026.^[7]

Manivannan was the Scottish Greens' candidate in the 2025 Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election to the City of Edinburgh Council, finishing in third place.^[1][8]

In the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, Manivannan was third on the Green list for Edinburgh and Lothians East. The Greens won one constituency seat in addition to three more list seats, and therefore Manivannan was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).^[9][10]

Questions were raised about Manivannan's right to stand as a candidate for the Scottish Parliament as they were fundraising for a graduate visa to remain in the UK after their student visa expires, but had not yet secured it by the time of the election.^[11] Senior figures from the SNP, the Conservatives and Reform UK criticised the Scottish Greens for clearing Manivannan to stand given their visa status.^[12][13][14] In response, the Scottish Greens released a statement that clarified "Q is on a valid visa with the right to work and live in Scotland, and is a Commonwealth citizen".^[15] They will, however, have to obtain a new visa during the session of parliament as the term of office is five years.^[16]

Manivannan has applied for a graduate visa as well as a global talent visa.^[3] Initial reports suggested that they would be eligible to serve out the remainder of their term outside of Scotland regardless of their visa status as MSPs can take part in proceedings remotely and there are no attendance requirements.^[17] Further reporting confirmed that "an MSP must have leave to remain to hold office at Holyrood" under the Scotland Act. If Manivannan fails to secure a new visa, they would be disqualified from office and they would be replaced by the Scottish Greens' next candidate on the Edinburgh and Lothians East list, with no by-election needing to take place.^[3]

Manivannan is one of the first two openly transgender people elected to the Scottish Parliament, along with fellow Scottish Greens MSP Iris Duane.^[18][19][20] Following their election, the parliament removed all gender categories from the online listings of MSPs.^[21]

Manivannan identifies as nonbinary and queer.^[1][15]