Andrew Wilson (politician)

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Andrew Wilson, born in Lanark, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 1970 is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).

Whilst attending the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, (from where he graduated in 1993 with a degree in economics and politics) he became National Convener of the Scottish National Party (SNP) student organisation, the Federation of Student Nationalists. He joined the Government Economic Service after graduation, serving with the Forestry Commission and Scottish Office, and in 1996 he started work at SNP Headquarters, Edinburgh, as a researcher, before entering employment with the Royal Bank of Scotland as a business economist in 1997.

Elected in first election to the newly re-established Scottish Parliament he was elected as one of five SNP MSPs to represent Central Scotland through the Additional Members System.

Whilst a MSP he served variously as the SNP Finance Spokesperson as well as Transport Spokesperson. He was widely viewed by commentators as a rising star of the SNP, and made much headway selling the idea of fiscal autonomy to the mainstream media. It was briefly adopted by The Scotsman, a unionist newspaper. Wilson had detractors amongst a small number of local party activists, who placed him fifth on the SNP list for the Central Scotland region in the Scottish Parliamentary Election, 2003. This lowly ranking cast his re-election in doubt, much to the annoyance of many in the wider party rank and file.

He came within 520 votes of unseating Cathie Craigie in the first past the post contest for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth seat, but when only three SNP MSPs were returned from Central Scotland he lost his place as an MSP. He is currently the Deputy Chief Economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland.