A newcomer to the Scottish Parliament, Ruth Davidson certainly lives up to her promise to be a fresh face for the Tories.
The former BBC journalist was elected to Holyrood in May this year, just days before Annabel Goldie announced that she would step down as party leader.
Ms Davidson, 32, joined the political battleground when she fought the Glasgow North East Westminster by-election in 2009.
At the time she said she had been inspired by David Cameron's call, in the wake of the expenses scandal, for people who had never been involved in politics to put themselves forward.
She then spent much of last year working for Miss Goldie as head of the leader's office, and praised the "integrity, commitment and good humour" of the woman she now hopes to succeed.
After failing to capture the Glasgow North East seat at Westminster, a constituency never likely to return a Conservative MP, Ms Davidson was elected to the Scottish Parliament this year as a list MSP for Glasgow.
Although a relative newcomer to politics, her bid to lead the Scottish Conservatives has attracted the support of some of senior the party members.
Ms Davidson has been endorsed by leader of the House of Lords, Lord Strathclyde; former deputy chairman of the UK Conservative party Michael Ancram; former Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth; and Scotland Office minister David Mundell among others.
Before entering politics Ms Davidson was "proud to serve Queen and country" in the Territorial Army but had to leave when she broke her back while training to be an officer.
She is a member of the Church of Scotland and has volunteered as a Sunday school teacher, while her hobbies include kickboxing and following the fortunes of the Scotland football team. She lives with her partner, Saskia Halcrow, in Glasgow.
In an in-depth interview with the Herald last year, Ms Davidson said that being gay was no hurdle to success in Scottish politics. “I’ve never encountered any impediment within the party for being gay,” she says. “There’s a misconception that the Scottish Tories are anti-gay. It’s a stick we get beaten with and it’s unfair.
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