Aberdeen City Council McDonald was elected to
Aberdeen City Council in
2007 at the age of 26 representing the Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone ward. Twelve days later his colleagues elected him as vice-convener of the housing and environment committee and he was appointed the deputy leader of the SNP group on the council.
Scottish Parliament McDonald was elected to the
Scottish Parliament in the
2011 election from the
North East Scotland regional list with the SNP taking 52.71% of the vote. As the
Scottish National Party had already won all ten constituency seats in the region, it came as a surprise to McDonald, who famously appeared at the declaration wearing jeans and a T-shirt. which was passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 28 March 2013, making McDonald's bill the first Members' Bill to pass in the Parliamentary session. McDonald has been a keen advocate for individuals on the autistic spectrum, leading members debates on the issue and asking questions of the Scottish Government. He has been a member of the Scotland Advisory Committee of the
National Autistic Society and a trustee of the charity, Friendly Access, which looks to create a more accessible environment for individuals with sensory disabilities. Following the death of
Brian Adam in April 2013, Mark McDonald was selected as the SNP candidate for
Aberdeen Donside and resigned his seat as a North East Scotland Region MSP to fight the
by-election. McDonald held the seat for the SNP with a reduced majority and was returned to the Scottish Parliament on 20 June 2013. In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, McDonald contested the seat and was successfully re-elected winning 56% of the vote and increasing the SNP majority to 11,630 – the largest majority in the whole of Scotland.
Scottish Government Following the Scottish Government reshuffle on 18 May 2016, McDonald was appointed to serve as Minister for Childcare & Early Years. In March 2020, McDonald announced his plans to step down from parliament at the 2021 election.
Resignation from the SNP McDonald tendered his resignation as minister on 4 November 2017 following the announcement by the SNP that he was being investigated for misconduct in the wake of the
2017 Westminster sexual misconduct allegations, saying "It has been brought to my attention that some of my previous actions have been considered to be inappropriate – where I have believed myself to have been merely humorous or attempting to be friendly, my behaviour might have made others uncomfortable or led them to question my intentions." ==Career after Parliament==