Labour front bench at-a-glance

Cathy Jamieson - Acting Scottish Labour leader

Cathy Jamieson, has continued her role as Scottish Labour's deputy leader, a post she held when Jack McConnell was first minister.

As the previous justice minister she presided over high-profile pushes to stamp out anti-social behaviour, remove drug dealers from communities and tackle Scotland's so called "booze and blades" culture.

The Carrick, Cumnock and Doon valley MSP was previously a social worker and holds a degree in fine art.

Margaret Curran - Health

Margaret Curran has acquired a reputation as a feared political opponent - but on occasion also shows a humorous side.

Her no-nonsense style stood her in good stead during her time as minister for parliamentary business, having to deal with opposition parties and the occasional Labour rebel and, as communities minister, oversaw the then Scottish Executive's flagship anti-social behaviour laws.

Ms Curran, MSP for Glasgow Baillieston, was previously a community worker and lecturer and is said to be a fan of the BBC television drama EastEnders.

Iain Gray - Finance

Iain Gray quickly picked up a Labour frontbench role soon after his return to parliament, following several years in the Holyrood wilderness.

Mr Gray, who served in several ministerial posts in the past, lost his Edinburgh Pentlands seat to Conservative David McLetchie in 2003, but following the 2007 election, is now MSP for East Lothian.

He trained as a physics teacher, worked in the voluntary sector and was campaign manager for the charity Oxfam.

Andy Kerr - Public services

As health minister in the last government, Andy Kerr embarked upon radical reforms aimed at improving and modernising the health service.

He also had to tackle the issue of waiting lists - a favourite subject of the SNP in opposition - as well as problems with the NHS 24 helpline service.

The MSP for East Kilbride, who worked in local government before becoming an MSP, also served as finance minister and was previously a Holyrood committee convener.

Pauline McNeill - Justice

Pauline McNeill came to the fore in the last parliament in the demanding role of convener of the Scottish Parliament's Justice 1 Committee.

It provided essential scrutiny on several important pieces of legislation, including laws to improve child protection, and carried out an inquiry into the Shirley McKie fingerprint affair.

The MSP for Glasgow Kelvin is a former union worker and president of the National Union of Students in Scotland and is a keen champion of Scotland's contemporary music scene.

Rhona Brankin - Education

Rhona Brankin, MSP for Midlothian, is seldom short of a cutting remark for her opponents - both in and out of government.

The former deputy environment minister refused in 2001 to pay short-term compensation to Scots fishermen - even though her effigy was burned at a protest - and more recently branded the new Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead's first parliamentary statement "wishy-washy" and "a complete cop-out".

Ms Brankin, a former teacher, education lecturer and chair of the Scottish Labour Party, took some heat as deputy health minister when she accused a Stranraer dentist who moved 1,000 of his patients out of the NHS of staging a political stunt - a comment he denied and sought legal advice over.

Claire Baker - Higher education

Claire Baker has followed in her husband Richard's footsteps by taking on the higher education brief previously held by him.

Before becoming an MSP in 2007, the mother-of-one worked in policy and research for various organisations, including the Amicus union, Royal College of Nursing and the Scottish Labour Party itself.

Mrs Baker, born and bred in Kelty, has described it as an honour to be able to serve the area as a Mid Scotland and Fife MSP ranks helping the vulnerable as one of her top priorities.

Sarah Boyack - Rural affairs

Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central, has served in several ministerial jobs, latterly as deputy environment minister.

As transport minister - the job she lost when Jack McConnell became first minister - she had to suspend tolls on the Erskine Bridge in 2001 after a Scottish Executive error failed to extend the tolling order and she also comfortably survived an SNP-instigated vote of no confidence over the awarding of road maintenance contracts to private firms.

Ms Boyack, who previously worked in and later lectured on planning, has held a longstanding interest on green matters and served as convener of the Scottish Parliament's environment and rural development committee.

David Stewart - Environment

David Stewart, who became a newly-elected MSP for Highlands and Islands MSP in 2007 is no stranger to politics, after failing to be re-elected as an MP.

Born and bred in the Highland capital, he used his time as MP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber to concentrate on issues such as transport, and also campaigned on behalf of IVF patient Margaret Grant - whose test-tube embryos were destroyed without her knowledge after her divorce - for regulation changes.

The former social work professional, who supported the War in Iraq, lost out in the 2005 General Election to Liberal Democrat Danny Alexander, after Labour peer Lord Haskins gave £2,500 to the rival campaign.

Karen Gillon - rural development

Karen Gillon, MSP for Clydesdale and one of the more jollier faces to be encountered at Holyrood, has broken new ground by taking on rural development.

She previously served on Holyrood's standards committee as it looked into the so-called Lobbygate accusations, which involved Jack McConnell, but came to the fore with her campaign to bring in a charge of "corporate killing", following the deaths of four of her constituents - the Findlay family - in a gas explosion at their home in Larkhall.

The former youth worker and die-hard Rangers fan revealed she had sung the Sash at matches, a song critics say contains sectarian sentiment, and balances her love of football with one of her other main hobbies - flower arranging.

Michael McMahon - Parliamentary business

Michael McMahon, an MSP since 1999, has seen pressing for legal reform, receiving death threats, his views on gay rights and rebelling against his masters all part of the job.

During the abolition of the law banning the promotion of homosexuality in Scotland's schools, the former welder, also a Roman Catholic, failed to gain government backing for his "marriage clause" to end "divisions" over scrapping the law and, later, following Green MSP Patrick Harvie's proposals to give gay and straight couples the same rights as married couples, said it was "highly debatable" whether gay marriage met people's priorities.

In his constituency, the Hamilton North and Bellshill MSP - who has also campaigned to scrap the "not proven" verdict in court cases and abstained from a vote on ferry tendering which defeated the previous government - received death threats over plans for a psychiatric secure unit and demanded an inquiry into an apparent cluster of cancer deaths around his home

Malcolm Chisholm - Europe and culture

Despite his softly-spoken demeanour, Malcolm Chisholm has shown a rebellious streak on several occasions at both Westminster and Holyrood.

As an MP he became the first minister to quit Tony Blair's new government over plans to maintain Conservative cuts to single-parent benefits, and later stood down as Scottish communities minister in 2005 after voting with the SNP over the replacement of Trident.

The MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith, a winner of the Herald's Politician of the Year award, also served as health minister under Jack McConnell - overseeing the introduction of legislation to abolish NHS trusts and ministerial powers to intervene in failing hospitals - before being switched to communities in the 2004 re-shuffle.

Elaine Murray - Enterprise

Elaine Murray has taken on the tough challenge of facing up to the SNP's knowledgeable enterprise minister, Jim Mather.

Not from a business background herself, the chemistry PhD worked in research before becoming a councillor in Strathclyde and South Ayrshire and went on to serve as a junior sports minister at Holyrood - during which time the rural MSP clashed with her then boss, Mike Watson, after he sponsored the bill to ban fox hunting with dogs.

Ms Murray eventually returned to the backbenches to spend more time in her Dumfries constituency, but took up positions on some of the Scottish Parliament's more influential committees.

Lewis Macdonald - Energy and tourism

Lewis Macdonald, MSP for Aberdeen Central, dealt with several hot political issues during his time as deputy health minister.

He was at the forefront of the drive to "fill in the gaps" in NHS dentistry and also had to contend with free personal care for the elderly amid claims from a number of councils that they were struggling to meet the costs of the policy.

Mr Macdonald, who has served in several ministerial posts, has been a Labour Party member since the 1980s and is a former Aberdeen University history lecturer.

Des McNulty - Transport

Des McNulty was responsible for calling the last Scottish Executive to account as convener of the Scottish Parliament finance committee.

He briefly saw ministerial office before the election as deputy communities minister, a post he previously held and was given in the reshuffle triggered by Peter Peacock's resignation as education minister towards the end of 2006.

The MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie previously worked as a sociology lecturer and as a councillor in Strathclyde and Glasgow.

Ken Macintosh - Schools

Ken Macintosh, known for putting service to the people high on his MSP's list of priorities, has also been working to gain support for his plans to tighten sun bed rules.

The Eastwood MSP resigned as a ministerial aide after voting against the previous Scottish Executive over plans for a shake-up of Glasgow hospitals and has also spoken up for fingerprint officers involved in the Shirley McKee case, who were his constituents.

Mr Macintosh, a history graduate, worked as a BBC network news producer before entering Holyrood in 1999.

John Park - Skills

John Park, one of the new intake of members at Holyrood, has been a Labour Party member for most of his working life.

He left school at 15 to work as an electrical fitter apprentice at Rosyth Dockyard and became a shop steward, before becoming a full-time official with several unions, including the STUC, as well as a stint in the private sector, heading up employee relations for Babcock Naval Services.

Mr Park, whose family roots lie in the Fife coal mining industry, regards serving as an MSPs for Mid Scotland and Fife as "a privilege and an important responsibility".

Mary Mulligan - Children and early years

Mary Mulligan saw off a spirited SNP challenge to retain the Linlithgow constituency during the 2007 elections - one of the Nationalists' top target seats.

In 2004, she triggered a reshuffle after her resignation as Labour deputy health minister amid plans for hospital reform and the possible downgrading of services, while insisting she still supported the health policy of the then Scottish Government.

Before becoming an MSP in the first Holyrood parliament of 1999, Ms Mulligan served as a councillor in Edinburgh for more than a decade, and also worked in retail sector.

Richard Simpson - Public health

Richard Simpson, who has a distinguished record in the medical field, is another former MSP making a Holyrood return after being shut out in the 2003 election.

Dr Simpson, now reincarnated as a Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, was a GP for almost 30 years before entering the first parliament in 1999 and is also a qualified psychiatrist.

The straight-talking former Ochil MSP was elevated to deputy justice minister under Jack McConnell, but resigned amid claims he described striking firefighters as "fascist bastards" - but claimed he had used the comments to reflect the opinions of members of the public.

Johann Lamont - Communities

Johann Lamont, during her time on Holyrood's front and backbenches, has been a strong voice on violence against women and inequality.

As deputy communities minister, she expressed concern over a Scottish Parliament report in 2005 that Gypsy travellers were experiencing extreme levels of discrimination and, later, as deputy justice minister, saw through reforms to speed up Scotland's lower court system.

The former history teacher and MSP for Glasgow Pollok - a key figure in raising concerns about youth disorder - also served as chair of the Scottish Labour Party.

Frank McAveety - Sport

Frank McAveety served as one of the youngest leaders of Glasgow City Council before becoming MSP for Glasgow Shettleston in 1999.

A period as deputy health minister came before the former teacher's appointment as minister for tourism, culture and sport, where he received praise, but also found himself at the centre of the row over cuts at Scottish Opera.

Mr McAveety moved to the backbenches in 2004 after the infamous "Piegate" incident - when he told MSPs in the parliament he had been detained on ministerial business after turning up late for question time, but was actually having lunch in the canteen.

Paul Martin - Community safety

Paul Martin's community safety role fits in with his long-standing calls to better serve communities where sex offenders are living.

He voiced in parliament the concerns of Margaret Ann Cummings that parents should be given greater information after her eight-year-old son Mark was killed by a known sex offender in Mr Martin's Glasgow Springburn constituency.

Mr Martin, a former councillor whose father Michael is the speaker of the House of Commons, also played a prominent role in raising the issue of anti-social behaviour and, being a keen music fan, plays the keyboard.