Patricia Ferguson

A member of the Labour Party, she served in the Scottish Cabinet of First Minister Jack McConnell from 2001 to 2007.

Cllr Patricia Ferguson
Official portrait, 2011
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport
In office 4 October 2004 – 17 May 2007
First Minister	Jack McConnell
Preceded by	Frank McAveety
Succeeded by	Linda Fabiani
Minister for Parliamentary Business
In office 27 November 2001 – 4 October 2004
First Minister	Jack McConnell
Preceded by	Tom McCabe
Succeeded by	Margaret Curran
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
In office 12 May 1999 – 27 November 2001
Presiding Officer	David Steel
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Murray Tosh
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn Glasgow Maryhill (1999–2011)
In office 6 May 1999 – 23 May 2016
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Bob Doris
Member of Glasgow City Council for Drumchapel/Anniesland
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2022
Personal details
Born	Patricia Josephine Ferguson (1958-09-24) 24 September 1958 (age 65) Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Labour
Spouse	Bill Butler
Alma mater	Glasgow College of Technology (HNC)

Ferguson was educated at Garnethill Convent Secondary School in Glasgow between 1970 and 1976, and at Glasgow College of Technology, where she obtained an HNC in Public Administration in 1978. She spent part of her childhood living in the city's Red Road Flats.

Prior to entering the Scottish Parliament, she worked as a health service administrator between 1978 and 1990, with the Scottish Trades Union Congress between 1990 and 1994, and with the Scottish Labour Party between 1994 and 1999.

She was first elected as an MSP in 1999 for the newly created Glasgow Maryhill constituency, a seat she held until 2011 when Glasgow Maryhill was merged with other constituencies to form the Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn constituency. She won the 2011 Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn election but lost her seat in 2016 to SNP member Bob Doris.

After being elected as MSP for Glasgow Maryhill in May 1999, she was Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 until 2001 and as a member of several of the Parliament's Standards and Procedures Committees.

She was first appointed to the Scottish Executive Cabinet in November 2001 as Minister for Parliament when Jack McConnell became First Minister. She became Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in October 2004.

In 2006, her name was included on a variant of a Nigerian scam email after a high-profile trip to Malawi as part of her Scottish Executive brief.

In the 2022 Glasgow City Council election, Ferguson was one of four members (including Labour colleague Paul Carey) elected to represent the Drumchapel/Anniesland ward.

Ferguson will stand as the Labour candidate for the new constituency of Glasgow West at the next general election. She was first runner-up in Glasgow North West in 2019.

She is married to former Labour MSP Bill Butler.