Elish Angiolini

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Elish Angiolini bigraphy, stories - Scottish lawyer and solicitor; Lord Advocate

Elish Angiolini : biography

24 June 1960 –

Dame Elish Frances Angiolini, DBE, QC, FRSA (born 24 June 1960"Angiolini, Elish Frances" in Who’s Who, A & C Black.), née McPhilomy, is a Scottish lawyer. She was Lord Advocate of Scotland from 2006 until 2011, having previously been Solicitor General since 2001. She was the first woman, the first Procurator Fiscal, and the first solicitor to hold either post. Since September 2012, Angiolini has been the Principal of St. Hugh’s College, Oxford.

Early life and education

Angiolini grew up in Govan, Glasgow in a working-class family; her father was a coal merchant and later worked for Rolls-Royce and as a commercial driver.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNSGTA4D03w As a child she wanted to be a ballet dancer.http://www.scotsman.com/news/interview_elish_angiolini_lord_advocate_1_1532502 One of her first jobs was working on a checkout at Marks & Spencer. She was educated at Notre Dame High School for Girls in the West End of the city, and studied at the School of Law of the University of Strathclyde, obtaining an LLB in 1982 and a Diploma in Legal Practice in 1983.

Angiolini’s first encounter with the legal profession came when, as a teenager, she was asked to give evidence in a burglary trial. Later, she recalled: "I was not terribly impressed. There were a lot of important people in gowns and witnesses were left a very long time in the witness room and not given any information… All the attention was focused on the permanent figures of the court, while us witnesses, and those in the dock, seemed irrelevant". The experience inspired Angiolini to pursue a career in law. Later as Regional Procurator Fiscal, Angiolini piloted a victim liaison scheme which was subsequently extended throughout Scotland.http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/47-1/1000046.aspx

Personal life

She married Italian Domenico Angiolini in 1985; they have two children., The Guardian 6 October 2006 Her hobbies include walking, picking wild mushrooms and cinema.

Lord Advocate

Following the resignation of Lord Boyd, First Minister Jack McConnell nominated Angiolini for the post of Lord Advocate. BBC News website 5 October 2006 Her nomination was passed by Parliament on 5 October 2006, with 99 in favour, 0 against and 15 abstentions., The Scottish Parliament, 5 October 2006. URL retrieved 12 October 2006 She was sworn in at the Court of Session on 12 October 2006 and one month later she was made a member of the Privy Council., 10 Downing Street website, 7 November 2006. URL retrieved 20 December 2006

After the 2007 election there was speculation that the new SNP administration might replace Angiolini. However, Alex Salmond, the First Minister, decided that she should stay in post, but would lose her seat in Cabinet. The SNP had committed to making this change as part of their pre-election campaign. She would still have the right to address Cabinet and be present at meetings of the Scottish Parliament. Her reappointment was agreed by Parliament on 24 May 2007., BBC News Scotland website, 24 May 2007. URL retrieved 26 May 2007 This made her the first Lord Advocate to serve two different governments.

Later in 2007, Angiolini clashed publicly with the head of Scotland’s judiciary, Lord President Hamilton, over the collapse of the World’s End murders trial. The trial judge, Lord Clarke, had ruled there was insufficient evidence for the jury to convict and threw the case out. Angiolini then made a statement to the Scottish Parliament, saying she was "disappointed" at the decision, a move Hamilton said undermined the independence of the judiciary.

Angiolini announced in October 2010 that she would step down from the role of Lord Advocate after the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2011. Alex Salmond paid tribute to Angiolini, saying "her term as Lord Advocate has been marked by significant improvements and substantial success in the disposal of justice in Scotland".http://scottishlaw.blogspot.com/2010/10/lord-advocate-elish-angiolini-to-step.html She was succeeded on 19 May 2011 by Frank Mulholland.