Kenneth Gibson MSP has been elected as the Scottish Parliament’s seventh Presiding Officer.
Upon election, the new Presiding Officer said: “It is a huge privilege to be elected as the Parliament’s Presiding Officer, and I want to thank MSPs for placing their trust in me.
“As Presiding Officer I will be bold, innovative and imaginative and will work in the interests of all Members.
“It’s clear that Parliament needs to reform and to renew its relationship with the people. Scotland needs a Parliament that is vibrant, relevant and trusted. I will play my part in delivering that.”
In his acceptance speech, Kenneth Gibson MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament added: “I’m looking forward to working with every single Member in this Chamber to take this Parliament forward.
“I think there is so much more we can be as a Parliament than we have been in the past and I will certainly do my utmost in taking us forward.”
The election took place following a secret ballot of newly elected Members. Other nominees included Clare Haughey MSP, Liam McArthur MSP and Stuart McMillan MSP.
Kenneth Gibson MSP has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Cunninghame North since 2007, having previously represented the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2003, as a Scottish National Party MSP. He was Convenor of the Finance and Public Administration Committee in the fourth and sixth sessions of Parliament and was the first MSP to lodge plans for a ban of smoking in public places.
The outgoing Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone MSP, presided over the Presiding Officer election.