Ian Blackford
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Ian Blackford MP |
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Member of Parliament for Ross, Skye and Lochaber |
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Assumed office 8 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Charles Kennedy |
| Majority | 5,124 (12.3%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 May 1961 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Website | Official website |
Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber since May 2015.
Originally from Edinburgh, Blackford previously worked as an investment banker and has been involved with various business ventures since. A prominent SNP member, he was formerly the party's national treasurer.
Blackford was educated at the Royal High School in Edinburgh.
Blackford worked as an analyst with NatWest Securities, before moving to a managerial role. The company was bought by BT Alex. Brown, and Blackford became the managing director. After further integration into Deutsche Bank AG in 1999, Blackford ran Deutsche Bank's equity operations in Scotland and the Netherlands. Following 20 years in the financial industry, he left to do independent consultancy work, forming an investor relations company called First Seer in 2002.
In 2005, Blackford joined the Dutch baking products company CSM as an investor relations manager. He was appointed non-executive chairman of the Edinburgh-based telecommunications firm Commsworld in 2006, having joined the board as a non-executive director in 2005. He is a trustee at the Golden Charter Trust. In 2013, he helped explain the business case for not closing a primary school in Milngavie when East Dunbartonshire Council had proposed closure.
He is a prominent supporter of Hibernian football club.
He was previously the chairman of the Glendale Trust, an organisation responsible for a community-owned estate on Skye, which made an approach to Highland Council to bring a historic pier under community control. Under his chairmanship, support was secured for establishing a heritage centre in 2010. He had also been a member of the FlySkye group, campaigning to bring commercial air services back to Skye.
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