Kenneth Gibson said he is a "repentant sinner" as he becomes the Scottish Parliament's newest Presiding Officer following a tense vote by MSPs on Thursday.
Mr Gibson won the vote in the final round by 74 votes, with Clare Haughey finishing second with 54 votes. The SNP MSP was elected on the third vote in the Presiding Officer election in Holyrood after the bookies' favourite for the role, Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur, was eliminated in the second round.
Mr Gibson takes the reins from former Scottish Greens MSP Alison Johnstone, who had held the office since 2021.
Following the results of Presiding Officer, Mr Gibson told journalists the era of a “dull” Parliament is over and the result was “unexpected for the Scottish Government”.
Asked if he would take a generous approach in his new £136,112 per year role, Mr Gibson said: "I'm a repentant sinner. Poacher turned gamekeeper."
Labour’s Mercedes Villalba previously accused the SNP’s Mr Gibson of “bordering on hate speech” during a contribution about housing biological males in women’s prisons.
Mr Gibson contended that “if a fox called itself a chicken, would you put it in a henhouse? Of course not”.
Speaking to journalists today, Mr Gibson said: "One of the things I'm so delighted about is that I got support right across the parliamentary chamber.
"We are going to be an inclusive parliament but also a parliament that works for everyone. That's not just the people of Scotland outside but also within. I want to make sure that every party feels that it's got a role to play in this parliament and making it better.
"I want to make it somewhat more enjoyable than the parliament has been in the past. It had got dull so let's hope that era has come to an end."
Four members put themselves forward for the Presiding Officer job, Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur – who served as a deputy in the role in the last parliament – as well as the SNP’s Kenny Gibson, Stuart McMillan and Clare Haughey.
The quartet took part in a hustings event in Holyrood on Wednesday, believed to be the first debate for the role.
The 129 members voted for their preference for the role on Thursday afternoon.
The Presiding Officer is effectively in charge of the political process at Holyrood, including overseeing debates and the weekly session of First Minister’s Questions.
The vote came after MSPs swore their oath to the Crown this morning in Holyrood.
Speaking following the vote in the chamber as he took up his new position, Mr Gibson said: "Thanks all those who voted for me through thick and thin. It has been quite a stressful afternoon, as you can imagine.
"I'm looking forward to working with every single person in this chamber to take this parliament forward. I think there's so much more we can be as a parliament than we have been in the past and I'm certainly going to do my utmost to work with you."
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