Who is the new Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander?

Douglas Alexander has been promoted from trade minister in a government reshuffle

Douglas Alexander has been announced as Secretary of State for Scotland after the sacking of Ian Murray in a government reshuffle

The 55-year-old MP for East Lothian is returning to a role he first held from 2006 to 2007.

A former minister in the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments, he was first elected to represent Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 1997.

But the Labour veteran lost his seat to the SNP's Mhairi Black in 2015, only returning to politics at last year's general election.

He becomes Scottish secretary after serving as Keir Starmer's Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security.

Douglas Alexander served as Scottish secretary in Tony Blair's government

Before the 2024 general election, Alexander said he had not anticipated stepping back into public life.

But in the autumn of 2022 he was approached by local party members to ask if he would consider standing.

The brother of former MSP Wendy Alexander, his political career began as a researcher for Gordon Brown in 1990.

He was elected to the safe seat of Paisley South in a by-election in 1997.

Favoured by the leadership for his intellect and presentational skills, as campaign co-ordinator he played a central role in delivering Labour's 2001 general election victory.

Douglas Alexander lost his seat to Mhairi Black in 2015

Alexander's first government post was minister for e-commerce at the Department of Trade and Industry.

At the time he was the youngest minister and in a reshuffle then became minister of state at the Cabinet Office.

He later became overseas trade minister with responsibilities to both to the Department of Trade and Industry and the Foreign Office.

After a cabinet reshuffle following the 2005 general election he became minister for Europe.

He served as Secretary of State for Scotland for the first time from 2006-2007.

In his years away from Westminster, Alexander pursued a career in academia - working as a visiting professor at New York University and King's College London.

And in 2023 he accompanied the singer Bono and his bandmate The Edge on a visit to war-torn Ukraine.