Profile: Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale

Kezia Dugdale is to quit Holyrood for a job at a political think tank

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale is to quit Holyrood for a job at a political think tank. BBC Scotland looks back on the MSP's political career.

Kezia Dugdale was born in Aberdeen in 1981, and went to school in Dundee before studying at university first in Aberdeen and then in Edinburgh.

She became involved in politics at an early age, working with the Edinburgh University Students Association and the National Union of Students.

• Kezia Dugdale to quit parliament

She started out running campaigns for Labour by serving as an election agent for MP Sheila Gilmore and MSP Sarah Boyack - who may ultimately replace her at Holyrood.

Ms Dugdale worked for Baron Foulkes of Cumnock - then a Holyrood MSP - between 2007 and 2011, at which point she was elected herself as a regional candidate for the Lothians.

She quickly rose through the ranks of the party, first becoming education spokeswoman and then the party's deputy leader in 2014.

Ms Dugdale became Scottish Labour leader in August 2015, after Jim Murphy quit in the wake of a general election where the party lost 40 seats.

She comfortably saw off a challenge from fellow Labour MSP Ken Macintosh - now Holyrood's presiding officer - with 72% of the vote, and vowed to work "night and day" to reverse the party's fortunes.

However, Labour's electoral slide continued in the Holyrood elections the following year, with the party slipping into third place behind the Conservatives after losing 13 seats.

She said she was "heartbroken" by the result, which also saw her returned to Holyrood on the Lothians regional list after she failed to wrest Edinburgh Eastern from the SNP.

Kezia Dugdale vowed to stay on as leader despite Scottish Labour slipping to third in the 2016 Holyrood election

This was far from her only electoral disappointment in 2016 either, having backed Remain in the EU referendum and travelled to the US to campaign for Hillary Clinton's presidential election bid.

Ms Dugdale stayed on as leader, and soon had a fresh election to fight in 2017 when Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap UK poll.

This saw Labour regain some of the seats it lost two years earlier, rising from one seat to six in Scotland while denying Mrs May an expected majority UK-wide.

However, the party actually gained less than 10,000 votes across Scotland, and remained in third place behind the SNP and the Conservatives.

Ms Dugdale was on the losing side in a series of campaigns in 2016

The campaign highlighted divisions between Ms Dugdale and the leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn.

The two campaigned together ahead of the Holyrood elections in 2016, but later that year she said it was "difficult" for Mr Corbyn to continue as leader after Labour MPs voted against him in a confidence motion.

She later backed Owen Smith in the party's leadership contest - saying that Mr Corbyn could not unite Labour or lead it into government - only to see the Welsh MP heavily defeated in the final vote.

Ms Dugdale subsequently tried to put the rift behind her, saying that "we can't fight the Tories when we are fighting each other".

Ms Dugdale and Mr Corbyn appeared together on the campaign trail

She ultimately quit the Scottish party leadership in August 2017, saying it was time to "pass on the baton" to someone else.

She denied that she was leaving because of differences with Mr Corbyn or pressure from more left-wing members of the party, insisting that she got on "very well" with the UK leader on a personal level.

The MSP said she was leaving with her "head held high", and that it was time for a new leader with "fresh energy, drive and a new mandate".

And she highlighted the influence of her friend Gordon Aikman, a Labour activist who had died aged 31 after a battle with Motor Neurone Disease, saying that his example taught her "how precious and short life was and never to waste a moment".

She was replaced as Scottish Labour leader by Richard Leonard, who defeated Anas Sarwar in a contest.

Ms Dugdale took three weeks off from Holyrood to enter the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Ms Dugdale was not away from the headlines for long after leaving the leadership, however, after it emerged in November that she was taking part in reality TV programme I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

She faced a backlash from colleagues after travelling to Australia during the Holyrood term to enter the jungle, with MSP Neil Findlay - a prominent supporter of Mr Leonard - describing the move as "utterly ludicrous".

Ms Dugdale said she could understand the "anger" of some colleagues, but insisted that "it is an amazing opportunity to talk to millions of people about the Labour Party, its values and how it is different".

Ultimately, she was the second contestant to be evicted from the show, and spent three weeks away from politics - during which time there was speculation that she could face suspension from the party for going away without formal approval.

But when she arrived back at Holyrood in December - just in time for the budget at Holyrood - she was only given a written warning by the party for her "unauthorised absence".

She later disclosed to the parliamentary authorities that she had received a fee of £70,000 for her appearance on the show, before tax, as well as a further five-figure sum for travel and expenses paid by ITV. She donated £2,500 of her Holyrood salary and £5,100 of the appearance fee to charity.

Ms Dugdale announced she was in a relationship with SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth

Ms Dugdale's personal life has also made headlines during her time in politics.

She came out as gay in 2016, and made her first public appearance alongside her then-partner Louise Riddell while voting in that year's Holyrood elections.

She later said she had been outed against her will, having asked for her quotes on her sexuality not to be included in the interview with the Fabian review magazine.

And later in 2017 she announced that she was in a relationship with SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, having split up with Ms Riddell earlier that year.

In a statement the couple said that while they were politicians, "we are also human beings, in a new relationship which we cherish".

Defamation case

Ms Dugdale also found herself defending a defamation case in court over a column she had written in the Daily Record newspaper while she was leader.

Pro-independence blogger Stuart Campbell sued the politician over a piece she had written accusing him of posting "homophobic tweets".

The rift between Ms Dugdale and Labour opened wider after the party cut off funding for her defence in the court case, which the MSP said was "pretty crushing".

The Record ultimately stepped in to fund Ms Dugdale's defence, which was successful - the judge said that while she was incorrect to imply that Mr Campbell was a homophobe, her article was protected under the principle of fair comment.

The judgement came weeks before Ms Dugdale's announcement that she would be stepping down from Holyrood.

She has been appointed as director of the John Smith Centre for Public Service, based at the University of Glasgow.

She said she had focused on "tough and challenging tasks" throughout her career, and that was now aiming to "rebuild faith in politics".