Sir Edward Mountain, 4th Baronet

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sir Edward Mountain

| honorific-suffix = Bt MSP

| image = Official Portrait of Edward Mountain MSP.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2016

| office = Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee

| term_start = 5 September 2022

| term_end =

| leader =

| predecessor = Dean Lockhart

| successor =

| constituency_MP1 = Highlands and Islands
{{nobold|(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)}}

| parliament = Scottish

| term_start1 = 5 May 2016

| term_end1 =

| predecessor1 =

| successor1 =

| majority =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1961|03|19}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Scottish Conservatives

| alma_mater =

| website = {{nowrap|{{URL|https://www.edwardmountainmsp.scot}}}}

}}

Sir Edward Brian Stanford Mountain, 4th Baronet (born 19 March 1961) is a Scottish Conservative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region since 2016.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/scotland-regions/S17000011 |title=Election 2016: Highlands and Islands. Scottish Parliament region |work=BBC News |date=6 May 2016}}

Early life

Mountain was commissioned into the Blues and Royals regiment of the British Army from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in October 1981.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48770/supplement/13269|title=Page 13269 | Supplement 48770, 19 October 1981 | London Gazette | The Gazette|website=www.thegazette.co.uk}} His military service took him to Uganda, Canada, Spain, Cyprus, Germany, and Egypt. He left in 1992 and continued to serve as a reservist for six years.{{Cite web|title=About {{!}} Edward Mountain MSP|url=https://www.edwardmountainmsp.scot/about-1|access-date=2021-07-27|website=Edward Mountain|language=en-US}}

In 1997, Mountain left the army reserve, having become a chartered surveyor. By 2006 he was a senior partner in a firm based in Inverness. The following year, he returned to farming. The Mountain family owns estates in Hampshire and in Strathspey.

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain stood in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency, where he finished fourth.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36077.stm |title=Vote 2011: Scotland: Constituencies: Caithness, Sutherland & Ross |work=BBC News |access-date=8 May 2016}} At the 2015 United Kingdom general election he stood unsuccessfully in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain stood as the Conservative candidate for Inverness and Nairn, coming second to Fergus Ewing. Although he failed to win that seat, he was nevertheless elected as an additional member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands region.{{cite news |url=http://www.highland-news.co.uk/News/Scottish-Parliamentary-Election-round-up-06052016.htm |title=Scottish Parliamentary Election round up |first=Emma |last=Crichton |work=Highland News |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=6 May 2016}} In the 5th Scottish Parliament, he was the Scottish Conservatives' spokesperson for land reform.{{cite web|title=Scottish Conservative appointments for new parliamentary term|url=http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2016/05/scottish-conservative-appointments-for-new-parliamentary-term/|website=Scottish Conservative Party|access-date=26 May 2016|archive-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327145903/http://www.scottishconservatives.com/2016/05/scottish-conservative-appointments-for-new-parliamentary-term/|url-status=dead}}

In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain retained his seat as a regional member. He serves as the Convener of the Parliament's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.{{Cite web |title=Edward Mountain |url=https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/edward-mountain |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=www.parliament.scot |language=en}}

On 27 February 2025, he announced he would stand down at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-26 |title=‘The behaviour of some politicians has left me cold’ - Highland MSP stands down for 2026 elections |url=https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/the-behaviour-of-some-politicians-has-left-me-cold-highl-375475/ |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Inverness Courier |language=en}}

Personal life

In June 1987, Mountain's engagement to Charlotte Sarah Jesson Pownall, daughter of Henry Pownall, was announced, and they were married on 24 October 1987."Captain Edward Brian Stanford Mountain" in Marriage Notices from The Times, 1982–2004, 8 June 1987, 26 October 1987

Heraldic achievement

{{Infobox COA wide

|image=Mountain baronets.svg

| crest = Issuant from the battlements of a tower Proper a demi lion guardant Argent holding between the paws an escallop Gules.

| escutcheon = Ermine on a fess Azure between three lions rampant guardant Sable each holding between the forepaws an escallop Gules three cross crosslets Argent.{{cite book |title=Burke's Peerage & baronetage |date=1999 |publisher=Crans, Switzerland : Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) |isbn=978-2-940085-02-6 |page=2016}}

| motto = Cum cruce salus.

| badge = An ivy leaf and a maple leaf slipped in saltire Proper enfiled by a circlet Or.

}}