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Mark Ballard (born 27 June 1971) is a former Scottish Green Party politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region from 2003 to 2007, and co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party from 2007 to 2010. He was Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh from 2006 to 2009, and now works for the National Deaf Children's Society
Between 1994 and 1998 he worked for European Youth Forest Action (now European Youth For Action) in Edinburgh and Amsterdam. From 1999 until 2001 he worked as editor of the journal Reforesting Scotland before setting up an environmental communications consultancy company that ran until 2003.
He was a member of the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee and was also substitute member of the Enterprise and Culture Committee. He committed substantial time to promoting social enterprises and co-operatives, as a Green alternative to the current system.Peter McColl (Former Advisor to Mark Ballard) on Green economics http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=146&Itemid=1 He also used the position to call for sustainable procurement guidelines, support ethical investment campaigns, and make the case for Scottish utilities being in public ownership.
As the Green speaker on Transport, Ballard supported campaigns against the Dalkeith by-pass and the M74, for the trams in Edinburgh and for a better and cheaper public transport system. As a Lothians MSP he helped raise awareness of community initiatives such as the campaign to resist a huge superstore development in Portobello, supporting the calls for congestion charging in Edinburgh, assisting universities wanting to make the switch to Fairtrade and opposing tuition fees for students. The latter in particular helped him win support amongst Edinburgh's student community.
Ballard's Parliamentary Register of Interests indicated that he held membership of several organisations, including: Friends of the Earth, Sustrans, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Democratic Left Scotland, Reforesting Scotland, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, Friends of Inverleith Park, SSPCA, Advocates for Animals and Scottish Education and Action for Development. Until 2005 he was also an unpaid director of UK charity Seeds for Change, treasurer of the Scottish Environmental Festivals association and is on the editorial board of the Scottish Left Review, a bi-monthly cross-party journal of the Scottish left.
The election took place on 15 and 16 February 2006, with a record turn out of almost 8000. A system of Single Transferable Vote was used. In the final round Mark Ballard received 3,597 votes against Magnus Linklater's 3,052 and was elected.
He was formally installed on 9 June 2006 in a ceremony in the university's Old College. Present at this ceremony were the Chancellor of the university, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the University Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Timothy O'Shea, and Mark Ballard's predecessor as Rector, Labour MP Tam Dalyell. In this capacity he worked on issues of concern to students and university staff, including playing a prominent role in the movement which led to the complete abolishing of student tuition fees in Scotland in 2008.
He was succeeded as Rector in 2009 by journalist Iain Macwhirter, whose campaign drew on many of Ballard's supporters.
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