Who is Gil Paterson?

Gil was born in Glasgow in 1942 and educated at Possilpark Secondary School in Glasgow. He worked for Forbes Brothes, Singer and Scottish Gas. In 1973, Gil started his own garage business and ran it until becoming an MSP in the very first session of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

The veteran Scottish National Party member joined in 1967 and has been a dedicated activist ever since. Within the party, Gil has held many positions at all levels of the party, from branch to National Executive Council.

In the 1999 parliament Gil was a member of the Local Government and Procedure Committees and Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Men's Violence against Women. 

In 2007 Gil was elected as a regional MSP for the West of Scotland and held the positions of SNP Parliamentary group Convener and Convener of the Standards Committee. He stepped down as the parliamentary group convener in 2016, after nine years in the job.

Gil is a proud father-of-two and grandfather-of-three and in his spare time enjoys reading, climbing, skiing and snowboarding.