Paul Sweeney
Paul Sweeney | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2026 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2021 | |
| Convener of the Public Petitions Committee | |
| Assumed office 10 June 2026 | |
| Shadow Minister for Scotland | |
| In office 3 July 2017 – 13 December 2019 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Gordon Banks (2015) |
| Succeeded by | Chris Elmore |
| Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East | |
| In office 8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Anne McLaughlin |
| Succeeded by | Anne McLaughlin |
| Scottish Labour portfolios | |
| May 2021–Jan 2023 | Shadow Minister for Employment and Public Finance |
| Shadow Minister for Mental Health | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 January 1989 Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Party | Scottish Labour & Co-operative Party |
| Education | Turnbull High School |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow University of Stirling |
| Website | pauljsweeney |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  British Army (Army Reserve) |
Years of service | 2006–18 |
| Unit | Royal Regiment of Scotland Royal Corps of Signals |
Paul John Sweeney (born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2021. He previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North East from 2017 to 2019. Sweeney is currently the convener of the Public Petitions Committee.
Early life and education
[edit]Sweeney was born at Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow on 16 January 1989 to Anne Patricia Sweeney (née Doherty), a bank clerk and John Gordon Sweeney, a shipyard worker.[1] The elder of two brothers,[2] he was brought up in Auchinairn, and Milton.[3] Sweeney attended St. Matthew's Primary School and Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs.
Sweeney studied for a degree at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a first class MA (Hons) in Economic History and Political Science in 2011.[4][5][6] At university he also became involved in debating with the Glasgow University Dialectic Society, of which he is an honorary life member.[7] He served as a trustee on the Glasgow University Union's board of management from 2013 to 2020.[8]
Before politics
[edit]At the age of seventeen, Sweeney joined the Army Reserve, initially serving in the Royal Corps of Signals with 32 Signal Regiment, before transferring to 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland at Walcheren Barracks.[9]
After an internship with BAE Systems at Portsmouth Naval Base as an undergraduate, Sweeney joined the company's graduate development programme with BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships in 2011,[10] based at the Govan and Scotstoun shipyards on the Clyde, where he undertook a series of roles in production engineering and shipbuilding operations management on the Type 45 destroyer, Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and Type 26 frigate programmes, including co-authoring a 2014 publication on the construction programme for the Type 45 destroyer.[11][12] Whilst at BAE Systems, Sweeney also initiated a project with the Glasgow School of Art's Digital Design Studio to introduce virtual reality methods into complex naval ship design and construction.[13][14]
At the end of 2015, Sweeney joined the national economic development agency Scottish Enterprise as a senior executive, working with the leadership of companies across the defence, marine, shipbuilding, aerospace and engineering sectors based in Scotland.[15] In April 2016, he was elected as a Council Member and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS).[16]
Early political career
[edit]Sweeney joined the Labour Party and Co-operative Party in 2008[17] and first became an active campaigner during the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election, after receiving a telephone call from Sarah Brown encouraging him to get involved.[3] While working in the shipyards he joined the Unite and