01.11.2019
The new Clerk/Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament has been appointed.
David McGill, who has worked at the Parliament since 1999, was appointed following an open competition and selection process involving all SPCB members alongside a senior colleague from the National Assembly for Wales.
David, who takes over from Sir Paul Grice, joined the Parliament in 1999 and has performed a variety of roles including clerking parliamentary committees and Principal Private Secretary to the Presiding Officer. Most recently, he served as Assistant Chief Executive, working directly with political parties and advising the Presiding Officer on procedural and parliamentary matters.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP said:
“I am delighted to welcome David as the new Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament. David has been with us from the very beginning of devolution in 1999 and has always shared the Parliament’s vision of a new way of doing politics founded on the principles of promoting equality, accessibility, transparency and the sharing of power with the people of Scotland.
“I have had the good fortune to work alongside David in a number of senior roles in recent years and I know that he brings with him an intelligence and sincerity allied to a natural sense of empathy and warmth which will help continue to build the reputation of this institution at the heart of public life. He has excellent political judgment and I have no doubt that he will be an outstanding leader, helping to guide the organisation through whatever the future holds.”
Background
David McGill graduated with an Honours degree in Politics from Glasgow College (now Glasgow Caledonian University) in 1989. Before joining the Parliament in 1999, he worked as a civil servant working firstly at Registers of Scotland as an Executive Officer and then as Deputy Clerk to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.
David was appointed Clerk and Chief Executive in October 2019. He is responsible for providing the Parliament with the property, staff and services required to carry out its purposes and acts as the Principal Adviser to the Presiding Officer and Deputy Presiding Officers in the management of Parliamentary business.
As Principal Accountable Officer, David is also responsible for the financial management of the organisation. He chairs meetings of the Leadership Group and attends meetings of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and the Parliamentary Bureau in an advisory capacity. In addition, David has lead responsibility for the Parliament’s response to constitutional issues