The Scottish Government has confirmed the appointment of former MSP Michael Russell as chair of the Scottish Land Commission (SLC).

Mr Russell replaces outgoing Andrew Thin, while Dr Craig Mackenzie and Professor Deb Roberts have been appointed as Commissioners.

He said: “I am honoured and excited to be appointed as Chair of the Scottish Land Commission after an independently scrutinised competitive recruitment process.

“Land is a vital resource for every citizen of our country and how we share it, care for it, and use it is a key issue at the heart of Scotland’s continuing story.

“I am strongly committed to a process of land reform which ensures that all communities benefit from this national asset and that it contributes to our sustainable well-being as a vital part of the process of building a fair and equitable Scotland."

Mr Russell most recently worked as SNP president and has had long-term involvement in the topic of land reform, having been environment minister from 2007 to 2009.

The role of the Scottish Land Commission is to advise the Scottish Government on an ongoing programme of land reform and to provide leadership for change in culture and practice.

The SLC is one of a small number of public bodies for which ministerial appointments to the board are subject to parliamentary approval.

The move proved to be controversial last year with Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden describing the appointment as “badly judged”, “bad for our rural sector” and “reeks of nepotism”

Speaking in a debate at Holyrood in December, Mr Lumsden added: “Mr Russell has described political opponents as enemies and Conservative MPs as traitors and hard right.

“This is the person who will be speaking on behalf of the Scottish Land Commission—a person who has used degrading language towards women in public and who has called people who do not agree with his politics enemies—and yet we are supposed to believe that he will now build relationships and engage with stakeholders. What an absolute joke.”

“It is the equivalent of the SNP marking its own homework, and it should be resisted. It is a ‘jobs for the boys’ approach.”

Mr Russell retired from representational politics in 2021 but remained SNP President until 2023. He is the author of seven books and has worked as a columnist and commentator as well as a television producer and director and founded the Celtic Music Festival.

He was also a part-time professor in Scottish culture and governance at the University of Glasgow and is the trustee of several charities.

Professor Deb Roberts is deputy chief executive and director of science at the James Hutton Institute, while Dr Craig Macenzie is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh Business School with more than 20 years of experience in investment management, combining financial and sustainable investment roles.