Hugh Henry

Hugh Henry
Hugh Henry
	Official portrait, 2006
Convener of the Public Audit Committee
	In office; 26 September 2007 – 24 March 2016
Preceded by	Charlie Gordon
Succeeded by	Jenny Marra
Member of the Scottish Parliament ; for Renfrewshire South; Paisley South (1999–2011)
	In office; 6 May 1999 – 24 March 2016
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Tom Arthur
Personal details
Born	12 February 1952 (age 72); Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Labour
Alma mater	University of Glasgow

Hugh Henry (born 12 February 1952) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire South, formerly Paisley South, from 1999 to 2016.

Background

Henry was born in Glasgow and raised in Erskine, Renfrewshire. He was educated at St Mirin's Academy in Paisley, the University of Glasgow and Jordanhill College of Education in Glasgow. Prior to working in politics, he worked as an accountant with IBM UK Ltd, as a teacher and as a welfare rights officer with Strathclyde Regional Council. He was a local councillor from 1984 until 1999, including 4 years as leader of Renfrewshire Council. A former Marxist, he was once a supporter of the Militant tendency.^[1]

Henry was appointed Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care in the Scottish Executive in 2001, and moved to become Deputy Minister for Social Justice in 2002. He was appointed Deputy Minister for Justice after the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, and became Minister for Education in 2006. He retained the education brief in opposition after the 2007 election. Henry was named Scottish Politician of the Year in 2010, for his performance as Convenor of the Public Affairs Committee. On 11 May 2011, Henry stood in the election for the 4th Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, coming second to Tricia Marwick, a Scottish National Party MSP. He stood down from the Scottish Parliament on 23 March 2016.

Henry is married with two daughters and one son.

^ "Sleaze row hits McConnell's man Henry". The Scotsman. Retrieved 19 October 2019.

Scottish Parliament
New parliament Scotland Act 1998	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley South 1999–2011	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Renfrewshire South 2011–2016	Succeeded by Tom Arthur
Political offices
Preceded by Peter Peacock	Minister for Education and Young People 2006–2007	Succeeded by Fiona Hyslop as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
Preceded by Richard Simpson	Deputy Minister for Justice 2002–2006	Succeeded by Johann Lamont
Preceded by Malcolm Chisholm	Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care 2001–2002	Succeeded by Frank McAveety