Robert McKay Gibson (born 10 October 1945) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 2003 until 2016, first as a Highlands and Islands regional member from 2003 until 2011, then representing the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency from 2011 until 2016.

Early life

Gibson was born in Glasgow on 10 October 1945. He was educated at the University of Dundee, where he headed the SNP student wing, the Federation of Student Nationalists. He was a district councillor in Ross and Cromarty and worked as a senior secondary school teacher in Alness and Invergordon before taking early retirement in 1995.

Political career

Gibson stood as SNP candidate for the Inverness seat in the February 1974 United Kingdom general election. In the early 1980s, he was a member of the SNP 79 Group. He stood as a candidate for Ross, Cromarty and Skye in 1987 and again in 1992. Gibson was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 2003 election from the Highlands and Islands regional list, and was re-elected for this region in 2007. During the fourth Scottish Parliament, he was the Convener of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee. In 2012, the Scottish Renewables Green Energy Awards named him their Politician of the Year. In May 2015 he announced that he would not stand for re-election in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Personal life

His partner is the former Highlands and Islands MSP, Eleanor Scott, of the Scottish Greens; they have two children, a son and a daughter. Gibson is also a musician and an author, and has written several books about Highland history and emigration. These include Plaids and Bandanas, The Highland Clearances Trail and Highland Cowboys.