In Parliament
Smith was elected to the first Scottish Parliament in May 1999 to represent his home constituency of North East Fife and was appointed as Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business in the government of First Minister Donald Dewar. A post he held until Donald Dewar’s death the following year.
He convened the Parliament’s Procedures Committee from 2003 until 2005 when he was elected Convener of the Education Committee, a position he held until the 2007 Election.
After the election Smith was appointed Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Europe, External Affairs and Culture and was elected by his colleagues to Chair of the Scottish Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party. In September 2008 he became Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s influential Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee.
Between 2001-2011 he represented the Scottish Parliament as a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly
Read more about this topic: Iain Smith (Scottish Politician)
Famous quotes containing the word parliament:
“At the ramparts on the cliff near the old Parliament House I counted twenty-four thirty-two-pounders in a row, pointed over the harbor, with their balls piled pyramid-wise between them,—there are said to be in all about one hundred and eighty guns mounted at Quebec,—all which were faithfully kept dusted by officials, in accordance with the motto, “In time of peace prepare for war”; but I saw no preparations for peace: she was plainly an uninvited guest.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“What is the historical function of Parliament in this country? It is to prevent the Government from governing.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)