Professor Lorne Crerar has today been appointed by Ministers as Chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

Lorne is a founding partner and Chairman of Scottish commercial law firm Harper Macleod LLP, which has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness and has held the part-time Chair of Banking Law at Glasgow University since 1997. Lorne was formerly Deputy Chairman of Scottish Enterprise Glasgow and one of three Chairmen of the Housing Improvement Task Force which completed its work in 2002.

He was appointed as Convener of the Standards Commission in June 2003 and resigned from this office in September 2006 to take up the Chair of the 'Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland' which reported in September 2007. Lorne was a non-Executive Director of the Scottish Government Justice Programme Board until November 2010.

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Professor Crerar has been a member of the HIE Board since April 2008 and is also Chair of the HIE Risk and Assurance Committee.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the economic and community development agency for an area covering more than half of Scotland's land mass, stretching from Shetland to the southern tip of Argyll and including almost 100 inhabited islands. In collaboration with other partners in the public sector, its aim is to support the delivery of the Scottish Government's stated purpose, "to create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth."

Cabinet Secretary for Finance Employment and Sustainable Growth John Swinney said: "Professor Crerar has a clear vision for the economic success of the Highlands and Islands. He has significant private sector experience, a proven track record in bringing about significant change and is keen to work closely with business and other parts of the public sector to boost the economy."

The appointment is for three years and runs until 28 February 2015.

This appointment is part-time and attracts a remuneration of £38,721 per annum for a time commitment of 1.5 days per week.

Professor Crerar does not hold any other Ministerial public appointments.

This Ministerial public appointment was made in accordance with the code of practice published by the Public Appointments Commissioner for Scotland. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. Professor Crerar has not declared any political activity.

(GK)