Siobhian Brown

{{Short description|Scottish Victims & Community Safety Minister}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Siobhian Brown

| honorific-suffix = MSP

| image = Siobhian Brown MSP.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2021

| office = Minister for Victims and Community Safety

| term_start = 29 March 2023

| term_end =

| predecessor = Elena Whitham

| successor1 =

| majority1 =

| birth_place = London, England{{cite news |date=21 January 2022 |title=Getting to Know You - Siobhian Brown MSP |url=https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,getting-to-know-you-siobhian-brown-msp |last=Anderson |first=Joseph |access-date=12 December 2022 |website=Holyrood |language=en}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|10|20|df=yes}}{{cite news |last1=Hilley |first1=Sarah |title=Politician enters SNP selection race to unseat Ayr Tory |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/politcian-enters-snp-selection-race-22743754 |access-date=8 May 2021 |work=Daily Record |date=25 September 2020 |language=en}}{{cite tweet|user=Siobhianayr|author=Siobhian Brown MSP|number=1583052599267192832|title=Thank you ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿|accessdate=3 January 2022}}

| party = Scottish National Party

| office1 = Convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee

| predecessor1 =

| termstart1 = 23 June 2021

| termend1 = 30 March 2023

| deputy =

| office2 = Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Ayr

| predecessor2 = John Scott

| majority2 = 170 (0.4%)

| termstart2 = 7 May 2021

| firstminister = Humza Yousaf
John Swinney

| deputy1 = Murdo Fraser

}}

Siobhian Brown (born 20 October 1972) is a politician in Scotland, serving as Minister for Victims and Community Safety since 2023{{Cite web |title=Full ministerial team confirmed |url=http://www.gov.scot/news/full-ministerial-team-confirmed/ |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en}} and a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr since 2021.{{cite web|url=https://beta.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/media/1818/Notice-of-Poll-Regional/pdf/Notice_of_Poll_Regional.pdf?m=637528918341970000|title=South Scotland Region: Statement of Persons and Parties nominated and Notice of Poll|website=Argyll and Bute Council|date=31 March 2021|access-date=1 April 2021|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507163755/https://beta.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/media/1818/Notice-of-Poll-Regional/pdf/Notice_of_Poll_Regional.pdf?m=637528918341970000|url-status=dead}} A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was a councillor for the Ayr West ward of South Ayrshire Council.{{cite news|last1=Brown|first1=Siobhian|date=21 November 2020|title=Ayr SNP candidate Siobhian Brown: 'Independence is crucial for every child's future'|language=en|work=The National|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18888157.snp-candidate-siobhan-brown-independence-crucial-every-childs-future/|access-date=7 May 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://beta.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/media/1816/Notice-of-Poll-and-Situation-of-Polling-Stations-Constituency/pdf/Notice_of_Poll_and_Situation_of_Polling_Stations.pdf?m=637528039651700000|title=Ayr Constituency: Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll|website=South Ayrshire Council|date=31 March 2021|access-date=1 April 2021|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507163753/https://beta.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/media/1816/Notice-of-Poll-and-Situation-of-Polling-Stations-Constituency/pdf/Notice_of_Poll_and_Situation_of_Polling_Stations.pdf?m=637528039651700000|url-status=dead}} She quit being a councillor in 2022 after several months as both a Member of Parliament and councillor simultaneously.{{cite news |last1=Thom |first1=Ryan |title=SNP MSP quits as South Ayrshire councillor after seven months in dual role |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/top-south-ayrshire-councillor-quits-25970810 |access-date=14 April 2025 |work=Daily Record |date=17 January 2022 |language=en}}

Political career

Brown joined the Scottish National Party the day after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. She was elected to South Ayrshire Council for the Ayr West ward in the 2017 Scottish local elections.

= Scottish Parliament =

In November 2020, she was selected as the SNP's candidate for the Ayr constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.{{cite news |last=Hilley |first=Sarah |date=10 November 2020 |title=MSP candidates chosen for election battle |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/msp-candidates-chosen-election-battle-22989809 |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Daily Record |language=en}} In May 2021, she was elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament for Ayr with a majority of 170 votes, defeating the incumbent John Scott who had been the Scottish Conservatives' longest serving MSP.{{cite news|last1=Rodger|first1=Hannah|date=7 May 2021|title=SNP take Ayr from Conservatives in second gain|language=en|work=The Herald|publisher=Herald and Times Group|agency=Newsquest Media Group|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19287754.snp-take-ayr-conservatives-second-gain/|access-date=7 May 2021}}

Brown has served as Convener of the COVID-19 Recovery Committee since June 2021.{{Cite web|title=Session 6 COVID19 Recovery Committee|url=https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-covid19-recovery-committee|access-date=2021-06-23|website=www.parliament.scot|language=en}}

In 2023 Brown was appointed as Minister for Victims and Community Safety by Humza Yousaf.{{Cite web |last=Paton |first=Craig |date=2023-03-29 |title=Yousaf says SNP is 'united' as he appoints supporters to his first Cabinet |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/humza-yousaf-kate-forbes-cabinet-snp-government-b1070901.html |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Behan |first=Paul |date=2023-03-30 |title=Siobhian Brown and Elena Whitham given Scots Government roles |url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/two-ayrshire-msps-take-new-29587267 |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Daily Record |language=en}} She later recounted that she was "extremely surprised" by Yousaf's decision to appoint her minister, as she stood by Kate Forbes, who was criticised for her disavowal of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill (GRR) on religious grounds.{{cite news |last1=Taylor |first1=Margaret |title=Siobhian Brown: 'Kate Forbes was attacked for her beliefs and I wasn't standing for it' |url=https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,siobhian-brown-kate-forbes-was-attacked-for-her-beliefs-and-i-wasnt-standing-for-it |access-date=14 April 2025 |work=Holyrood |date=16 June 2023 |language=en}}

Personal life

Born in London to Scottish parents, Brown emigrated to Sydney, Australia when she was three years old. After working in Spain, Italy, London and Scotland,{{cite web | url=https://www.snp.org/your-team/siobhian-brown/ | title=Siobhian Brown | date=10 May 2021 }} she moved to Ayrshire—where her parents are from—in 1999.{{cite news|last1=Duffy|first1=Judith|date=28 March 2021|title=SNP hopeful embarks on one of the toughest challenges in Scotland|language=en|work=The National|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/19192847.snp-hopeful-embarks-one-toughest-challenges-scotland/|access-date=7 May 2021}} Brown has four children (including a step-daughter), with her youngest being born when she was 44 years old. In 2016 she founded the South Ayrshire Babybank and remains a volunteer for the organisation.{{Cite web|last=Healey|first=Derek|title=SNP candidate Siobhian Brown in age discrimination row|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/politics/scottish-politics/2197054/snp-candidate-age-discrimination/|date=2021-05-06|access-date=2021-05-12|website=The Courier|language=en-GB}}