Politician. Scott was born in Inverness, the son of the Laird of Bressay, Sir John Scott. He was educated at Anderson High School in Lerwick and Napier College (Edinburgh). He began as a researcher for Jim Wallace, then Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland, before being appointed Press Officer for the Liberal Democrats in Scotland in 1990. He was elected as a member of Shetland Islands Council (1994-99), serving as Vice Chairman of the Roads and Transport Committee and Chairman of Lerwick Harbour Trust. In 1999, he was elected a Member of the Scottish Parliament, representing Shetland and has served as Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Services and Parliamentary Business (2003-05), Minister for Transport (2005-07) and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats (2008-11), resigning in the wake of the losses suffered by his party in May 2011. Subsequently he has spoken for the Liberal Democrats on business and the economy.
Scott lives in Gardie House on Bressay, where he runs a farm which occupies much of the island.
