Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
Ian Bruce is the Ethical Standards Commissioner for Scotland and has been in post since March 2023
following his appointment by the Scottish Parliament.
Prior to this he spent two years as the Acting Commissioner having run the public appointments side of the office since 2005. He regulates ministerial appointments to the boards of Scotland’s public bodies and investigates the conduct of MSPs, councillors, board members and lobbyists. He also provides guidance and training to public body chairs and non-executive members on topics such as succession planning, recruitment and selection, governance and ethical leadership.
Prior to this he held a number of roles in the public, private and voluntary sector culminating in his
appointment as the Chief Executive of Abbeyfield Scotland, his previous role before joining the office.
He has an honours degree in Mental Philosophy from the University of Aberdeen, where he specialised in ethics.