Dundee City West SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick is to stand down at the next election.
Mr FitzPatrick, who served in government under first ministers Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, will leave Holyrood after nearly three decades representing the city at a local and national level.
Announcing his plan, Mr FitzPatrick said it had been a “tremendous honour” to serve the city he grew up in but that now was the right time to stand down.
He said: “I never for a moment expected that I would have the privilege of representing Dundee over the course of four successive parliaments.”
‘Now is the right time to stand down’
He added: “After 19 years as an MSP, I feel that now is the right time for me to step down and give someone else the opportunity to stand as the local SNP candidate, so that they can take forward our strong record of delivering for Dundee.”
The 57-year-old was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 and increased his share of the vote at each election since.
In 2021, he secured over 60% of votes – making the constituency one of the “safest” SNP strongholds in the country.
As a government minister, he introduced a new law which created an opt-out system for organ donation.
He also welcomed a change in the law in 2020 that made it easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood having led work on the issue inside government.
When he was first elected, Mr FitzPatrick was one of only a few LGBT+ MSPs in the parliament.
Mr FitzPatrick cited these achievements in government and his role in the 2014 independence referendum as sources of pride – including helping to campaign for Dundee’s Yes vote.
As Public Health Minister he backed calls for a supervised overdose prevention facility pilot in Scotland and established the Drugs Deaths Taskforce.
But it was on this issue that Mr FitzPatrick’s ministerial career hit the rocks in 2020, when he resigned from government over record numbers of drugs deaths in Scotland.
He described the crisis as “the most heartbreaking and difficult problem I have faced”.
First Minister John Swinney said Mr FitzPatrick had been “pivotal” to the SNP’s success in Dundee.
Fellow Dundee SNP politician Shona Robison has also faced speculation about whether she will stand down.
Conversation