Rhona Brankin (born 19 January 1950) a Labour Co-operative politician and was first elected to represent Midlothian in the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. Brankin is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen and before entering the Scottish Parliament she was a teacher and a lecturer on special educational needs. She was former chair of the Scottish Labour Party. She is married with two grown-up daughters. In January 2007 she was promoted to Minister for Communities after the resignation of Malcolm Chisholm.