Pam Gosal
MBE MSP
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
8 May 2021
Personal details
Born (1972-04-25) 25 April 1972
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyScottish Conservatives

Permjit Gosal MBE (born 25 April 1972) is a Scottish Conservative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for West Scotland since May 2021.[1] She is one of the first women of colour elected to the Scottish parliament, alongside Kaukab Stewart, and is also the first woman of Indian descent and non-practising Sikh to serve as an elected member of the Scottish Parliament.[2][3][4][5]

Background

Pam Gosal was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She helped run her family business before working in Local Government prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament.[6][7]

Political career

Gosal stood in East Dunbartonshire at the 2019 United Kingdom general election and came in third place.[8]

She ran in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election as the Conservative candidate for Clydebank and Milngavie and West Scotland. Gosal finished third in the Clydebank and Milngavie seat, but she was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for West Scotland. She is the first Sikh and first woman of Indian background to be elected as an MSP to the Scottish Parliament.[2][9]

On 13 May 2021, Gosal and Stewart were sworn in as the first minority female MSPs.[10] She took her oath in Punjabi as well as English.[11]

In June 2023, she was appointed Deputy Chairwoman of the Scottish Conservatives and Deputy Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government.[12]

Gosal was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to business, to racial equality and to charity in Milton Keynes.[13]

Political opinions

She is an advocate of introducing a domestic violence register in Scotland.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pam Gosal". The Scottish Parliament.
  2. 1 2 "Scottish election 2021: First women of colour elected to Holyrood". BBC News. 8 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "'It has taken too long but to all women and girls of colour out there - the Scottish Parliament belongs to you too'". The Scotsman. 9 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "Pam Gosal becomes first Sikh to be elected to Scottish Parliament". Hindustan Times. 10 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Gibson, Darren (13 May 2021). "Pam Gosal: West Scotland MSP becomes first Sikh in Scottish Parliament". The Dumbarton Reporter.
  6. ↑ "Pam Gosal becomes first Indian woman to be elected as MSP in Scotland". The Tribune. Tribune News Service. 9 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "The women who hope to break the mould of Scottish politics". BBC News. 22 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "Dunbartonshire East parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Scottish Election 2021 results LIVE: Final results leave SNP short of majority". The Scotsman. 8 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "Holyrood 2021: Presiding officer picked after MSPs sworn in". BBC News. 13 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Scottish Greens MSP Alison Johnstone to be new presiding officer". BBC News. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  12. ↑ "tweet announcing new role". Twitter. 28 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N20.
  14. ↑ "MSP Pam Gosal pushing for law to register domestic abusers". BBC News. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  • Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Pam Gosal
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