In 2006, Dame Elish Angiolini DBE PC QC FRSA FRSE was appointed Lord Advocate in Scotland, the first woman and the first solicitor to hold the position.
Brought up in a working-class family in Glasgow, Angiolini read law at Strathclyde University, later serving as a Procurator Fiscal in Glasgow and Airdrie. In 1997, Angiolini became Head of Policy at the Crown Office, helping the department prepare for devolution and the introduction of the 1998 Human Rights Act. In 2001, she became the first female Solicitor General for Scotland, appointed by First Minister Jack McConnel.
Angiolini served as Lord Advocate between 2006 and 2011. Alex Salmond described her term as Lord Advocate as “marked by significant improvements and substantial success in the disposal of justice in Scotland”.
