Jeane Tennent Freeman was born on 28 September 1953 and is a Scottish former politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport from 2018 to 2021.
29 Facts About Jeane Freeman
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Jeane Freeman became politically active at an early age and was a member of the Communist Party's student wing, before joining the Labour Party.
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Jeane Freeman later served as a political advisor to the Labour First Minister Jack McConnell from 2001 to 2005.
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Jeane Freeman campaigned in support for Scottish independence and in the aftermath of the Yes Scotland campaign's defeat in the referendum, she joined the Scottish National Party.
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Jeane Freeman was elected to the 5th Scottish Parliament and was appointed a junior ministerial post as Minister for Social Security.
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Jeane Freeman led press briefings to the public, was criticised for handling of care homes and announced Scotland's preparation plan for delivering COVID-19 vaccines.
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Jeane Tennent Freeman was born on 28 September 1953 in Ayr.
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Jeane Freeman was raised in South Ayrshire with her two brothers, to a trade union, Labour supporting family.
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Jeane Freeman's mother was an nurse and her father, son of an immigrant family, was an aircraft fitter and was in the RAF during WWII.
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Jeane Freeman was educated at Ayr Academy and from 1975 to 1979, she attended the Glasgow College of Technology, studying sociology and politics.
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Jeane Freeman trained to be a nurse and went on to earn a degree.
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Jeane Freeman was a leading member of the Communist Party's student wing and in 1979 she became the first woman to chair the National Union of Students Scotland.
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In 1983 Jeane Freeman was a member of the Communist party's Congress Arrangements Committee which oversaw the running of that year's party congress.
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In 1987, Jeane Freeman established Apex Scotland, a criminal justice employment organisation for which she served as Chief Executive for twelve years.
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Jeane Freeman was appointed as a member of the Parole Board for Scotland in 2006 and has played roles on the Scottish Police Services Authority Board.
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Jeane Freeman was appointed as a Lay Member to the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, commencing November 2011 for a four-year period.
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Jeane Freeman billed taxpayers for 376 days work - leading her to be dubbed 'the Quango Queen' in the press.
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Later Jeane Freeman joined the Scottish Labour Party and was a member until the late 1990s.
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Between 2001 and 2005, Jeane Freeman served as a senior political adviser to First Minister Jack McConnell.
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Jeane Freeman left the position voluntarily, though there were reports of a row between Freeman and John Elvidge, which were dismissed by the Scottish Executive.
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Jeane Freeman was active in the campaign for Scottish independence since the announcement of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
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Jeane Freeman is a founding member of Women for Independence and spoke at a meeting of the Labour for Independence group.
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Jeane Freeman was elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
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In 2019, Jeane Freeman faced calls for her resignation following ten cases of infections linked to water contamination at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
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In February 2020, Jeane Freeman was forced up her security presence amid death threats against her.
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Jeane Freeman served as Health Secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland and briefed the public in press conferences.
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In November 2020, Jeane Freeman delivered a statement to the Scottish Parliament on vaccines.
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Jeane Freeman announced the priorities list for the first wave of vaccinations, which ran from December to February 2021.
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On 24 August 2020, Jeane Freeman confirmed that she would not be standing at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.