Secretary of State for Scotland, Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy was born and brought up in Arden in Glasgow. His family later emigrated to South Africa but he returned to Scotland aged 18 to study at Strathclyde University, from where he went on to chair the National Union of Students (NUS) in Scotland, and later the UK NUS. He was first elected to Parliament in 1997 representing the Eastwood constituency, and subsequently served as PPS to then-Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell and, following the 2002 general election, as a Government whip.

He was re-elected at the 2005 general election to the same constituency, now re-named East Renfrewshire, and was promoted to ministerial rank as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Cabinet Office, with responsibilities including e-government, better regulation and public service modernisation. In May 2006 he was appointed Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, with a brief also covering child poverty, and since June 2007 he has served as Minister of State for Europe, where his responsibilities included the European Union; the Balkans; and liaison with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO.

He was appointed as Secretary of State for Scotland on 3rd October 2008.