Andrew gained his first degree (in History) from the University of Ulster in 1984, and subsequently had a career within the Private Sector – across both retail and manufacturing – focused around Employee and Management Development.

Professionally; Andrew is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD); and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Andrew was later elected onto the City of Edinburgh Council in May 1999, at the start of Scottish devolution, and remained on the Council for four, electoral terms – until May 2017.

Andrew’s time in Scottish Local Government culminated in a 5-year tenure as the City of Edinburgh Council Leader (between May 2012 and May 2017), when he was proud to lead the (then) only Labour/SNP Coalition Administration, in Scotland.

And, over recent years, Andrew has held a wide-range of public roles:

• Council Leader, with political responsibility for Scotland’s Capital City; from 2012-2017
• Chair of the Edinburgh Partnership (the community planning partnership for Edinburgh); from 2012-2017
• Chair of the Scottish Cities Alliance (SCA); from 2015-2017
• Chair of the Cooperative Council Innovation Network (CCIN); from 2014-2016
• Chair of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS); from 2008-2011
• Chair of ‘Fairshare’ (Scotland’s Campaign for Local Democracy); from 2001-2007

Subsequent to those four, full terms within Scottish Local Government, Andrew positively made the decision not to contest the May 2017 Council Elections.

Andrew thus pro-actively chose to leave elected Public Office, in order to focus his energies and skills on a wholly new set of challenges.

Andrew is now currently Convener of the (SCVO) Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ Board of Trustees; and also a Board Member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland.

In addition to these professional and public interests, Andrew is also an outdoor enthusiast and did actually spend a few years working within the outdoor pursuits sector. He remains a keen walker and cyclist to this day.

Andrew and his wife have lived in Edinburgh for some 25-years; and their one son is currently at University in Dundee.