Chris Ballance

Chris Ballance (born on 7 July 1952) is a Scottish playwright and politician. He is a member of the Scottish Green Party and has been a councillor for the Aird and Loch Ness wards in the Highland Council since 2022. He was also a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South of Scotland region from 2003 to 2007.

Chris Ballance
Member of the Highland Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2022
Constituency	Aird and Loch Ness
Member of the Scottish Parliament for South of Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office 1 May 2003 – 2 April 2007
Personal details
Born	(1952-07-07) 7 July 1952 (age 73) Worcester, England, UK
Political party	Scottish Greens

Biography

Born in Worcester, England, he owned and managed a second-hand bookshop in Wigtown, won a Scotsman Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1990,^[1][2] and wrote sketches for Radio Scotland.

Political career

He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2003. He held a seat on the Parliament's Enterprise and Culture Committee and was the Green's Parliamentary business manager and speaker on nuclear issues, culture, and peace.^[3] He stood again in the 2007 election but was not re-elected.

In August 2007 he was appointed to the Scottish Broadcasting Commission established by the Scottish Executive.^[4]

Ballance stood as a Green candidate in the Aird and Loch Ness ward for the 2017 Highland Council election.^[5] He stood again in 2022 and was elected as a councillor.^[6]

Personal life

He is a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers).

Plays

• Water of Life (1989)
• Bread and Water (1997)
• Hope Deferred (1997)
• Viva La Diva (2001)^[7]
• It's My Party (2007)^[8]