Scottish government minister Christina McKelvie has died aged 57, the SNP has announced.
McKelvie, the drugs and alcohol policy minister, stepped back from her duties last summer after announcing she was undergoing treatment for secondary breast cancer.
She died at Glasgow Royal Infirmary on Thursday morning.
McKelvie’s partner and SNP depute leader Keith Brown said she was a beloved mother to two sons, partner and grandmother who “lit up every room she was in with her positivity and bright smile”.
McKelvie had been MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse since May 2011, having initially been elected as a Central Scotland representative in 2007.
She recovered from breast cancer in 2021 but was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in June.
First Minister John Swinney said he was “devastated” by the news, describing McKelvie as “one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met in my life”.
“The Scottish National Party has lost one of its finest, and I have lost an outstanding minister in my government. I know her loss will be felt right across the parliament and among the countless constituents she supported over the years.”
McKelvie was equalities minister between 2008 to 2023. She then served as minister for culture, Europe and international development before moving to the drugs and alcohol brief from 2024.
Brown said: “Today, we have lost our much loved Christina and know she will be very much missed by all our family and also her many, many friends, staff and constituents.”
