Ross Greer

Ross John Greer (born 1 June 1994) is a Scottish Green Party politician who is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region. Greer is the youngest ever MSP, elected at the 2016 election.

This article is about the politician. For the footballer, see Ross Greer (footballer).

Ross Greer

MSP
Greer in 2016
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Personal details
Born (1994-06-01) 1 June 1994
NationalityScottish
Political partyScottish Green Party
Other political
affiliations		Yes Scotland
(2012–2014)
ResidenceMilngavie, Scotland
EducationHigh school; did not finish at University of Strathclyde

Early life and career

Greer was educated at Bearsden Academy, leaving in 2012.[1][2] Greer was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, representing the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency 2011–13.[3] Greer joined the Scottish Green party at age 15 years.[4] In third year of high school, he led a successful coup against the older pupils in sixth year who ran the eco-committee but never turned up.[5] He took part in the Debating Matters competition in 2012, where he reached the national final.[6]

Greer began a course of study at the University of Strathclyde, in psychology and politics, but left without graduating in December 2012 to work for pro-independence campaign Yes Scotland as their youth and student co-ordinator and became their communities co-ordinator during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[6][7] After the referendum, he was employed by the Scottish Greens in a role that involved strategy development.[8]

Political career

Greer stood as the Scottish Green candidate in the East Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 general election, securing 5th place with 804 votes (1.5%).[4] He became the Scottish Greens' party spokesman on Europe and external affairs.[9] In March 2015, the Scottish Greens announced Greer had been selected as the lead candidate for their West Scotland regional list, following a ballot of their members.[10]

Ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Greer was critical that the general level of engagement with 16 and 17-year-olds as first-time voters had been below what was seen in the referendum.[11] On 6 May 2016, he was elected with 17,218 votes (5.3%) as an additional member for the West Scotland region. Elected at the age of 21 years old, he became him Scotland's youngest MSP.[12] Before Greer was elected, the youngest MSP had previously been Labour's Mark Griffin, who was 25 years old when he was first elected in 2011.[1] On 22 May, he was appointed the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for International Development and External Affairs, Education and Skills, and Culture and Media.[13]

On 29 January 2019, Greer posted a tweet calling Winston Churchill a "white supremacist mass murderer." He went on daytime TV and was challenged on his views.[14]

Greer currently serves as the co-chair of the Scottish Greens Executive Committee.[15]

Personal life

Greer is a member of the Church of Scotland and Bearsden Cross Church.[16][17]

References
  1. Davidson, Jenni (6 May 2016). "Youngest ever MSP elected for the Scottish Greens". Holyrood.
  2. "Greer is unveiled as the Green Party's Westminster hope". Bearsden & Milngavie Herald. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. Bowden, George (6 May 2016). "Scottish Election Results: Greens' Ross Greer Becomes Youngest MSP". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  4. Coutts, Eva (6 May 2016). "Holyrood 2016: Greens' Ross Greer, 21, becomes youngest MSP". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. Greer, Ross (16 May 2020). "Ross Greer tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  6. "People: Ross Greer". www.debatingmatters.com. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  7. Belgutay, Julia (13 September 2013). "Why teachers need to cast a vote for clarity". TESS. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  8. "Election 2016: Scottish Green Ross Greer elected youngest ever MSP at 21 on West of Scotland list". The Herald. Glasgow. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  9. "Scottish Greens consider pro-Europe campaign". The Scotsman. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  10. "Scottish Greens regional list candidates". Holyrood. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  11. Brooks, Libby (3 May 2016). "Don't patronise us, Scottish teenagers tell politicians bidding for their votes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  12. "Greens' Ross Greer becomes youngest MSP". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
  13. "Scottish Greens announce portfolios of new Holyrood group". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  14. "MSP Ross Greer brands Churchill 'mass murderer'". BBC News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  15. "Scottish Greens cancel conference because of coronavirus as delay phase nears". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  16. Brooks, Libby (22 May 2019). "Anger as Church of Scotland decides not to divest from fossil fuels". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  17. "NYA rep Ross Greer becomes youngest ever MSP". The Church of Scotland. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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