Mark Ballard

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Mark Ballard

Mark Ballard (born June 27, 1971 in Leeds ) is a Scottish politician and member of the Scottish Green Party .

During his childhood and youth, Ballard spent several years in India and Pakistan . He attended Lawnswood Comprehensive School in Leeds and then went to Edinburgh University where he studied economics and history. He then worked for the European Youth Forest Action in Edinburgh and Amsterdam . Between 1998 and 2001, Ballard was the editor of Reforesting Scotland magazine . In 2006 he was elected 49th Rector of the University of Edinburgh and held that position until 2009.

Political career

In 1994 Ballard ran for the City Council of Edinburgh, but could not win a seat with 2.1% of the vote. For the first Scottish parliamentary elections in 1999 Ballard applied for a list mandate for the Lothians electoral region . As a result of the election result, however, only his party colleague Robin Harper moved into the newly created Scottish Parliament as the only Green politician in Scotland . In 2001, Ballard took part in the new elections in the Broughton district for a second time in the city council elections in Edinburgh, but again clearly missed entry. In the parliamentary elections in 2003 , Harper was able to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament for the first time, as the result of the election meant that two Green candidates could be sent to the Lothians electoral region. At the end of the legislative period, he left parliament.

activities

As part of a protest by the CND against the stationing of nuclear weapons at the naval port of Faslane-on-Clyde in 2004, Ballard was arrested along with three other party colleagues. In 1999 Ballard allegedly took part in an action against genetically modified seeds on a Monsanto farm near Dalkeith . He was accused of deliberately destroying the company's plants. He was sentenced to pay a fine of £ 125.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e information on scottishpolitics.org
  2. ^ The Guardian: Green MSP elected new Edinburgh rector
  3. ↑ Information from the University of Edinburgh ( Memento from December 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Results of the general election 1999 on the Scottish Parliament website
  5. ^ Results of the general election 2003 on the Scottish Parliament website
  6. ↑ Results of the 2007 general election on the Scottish Parliament website
  7. ↑ BBC News: MSPs arrested at Faslane protest
  8. ↑ BBC News: GM crop campaigners found guilty
personal data
SURNAME Ballard, Mark
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 27, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH Leeds