Ian Murray

IAN MURRAY was born in Edinburgh in 1976. He attended his first Hearts game in 1985 whilst at Dumbryden Primary School. He left Wester Hailes Education Centre at the age of 16 to study Social Policy, Politics and Law at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, he briefly worked in financial services before starting his own event management business, 100mph Events Limited. He ran one of the largest events at the Edinburgh Festival and was an innovator in broadcasting on the internet. He also owned and ran a hotel and two bars in Edinburgh.

Alongside running his own businesses, he was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council in 2003 for the Alnwickhill ward and was re-elected in 2007 for the larger Liberton/Gilmerton Ward. As a Councillor, he specialised in economic development and planning.

In 2010, Ian was elected as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Trade, Industry and Employment until the General Election in 2015 when he was returned to Parliament as the sole Labour MP from Scotland. He was promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in 2015 and held the position until he resigned in 2016. He was re-elected with the largest majority in Scotland at the snap General Election in 2017 and currently serves on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

In 2013, he was appointed independent Chair of the Foundation of Hearts and served on the Board of Heart of Midlothian Football Club 2014–15. He is a Trustee of the McCrae’s Battalion Trust.

Ian is a lifelong Jambo and has always lived in Edinburgh. This is Our Story is his first book.