Solicitor Annemarie O’Donnell retires as Glasgow Council chief

Annemarie O'Donnell

Ms O’Donnell has told council leader Susan Aitken that she will step down in May, after almost a decade in post and more than 30 years in local government in Glasgow.

She began her local government career with Glasgow District Council some 33 years ago, working as a solicitor and then senior solicitor in a team focusing on construction, housing and planning.

Following local government reorganisation in 1996, she was promoted to chief solicitor at the newly-established Glasgow City Council.

In 2003, she was appointed assistant head of legal and administrative services and later spent two years on secondment as depute director of social work services.

She returned to corporate services in 2007, serving as assistant director and later director, before succeeding George Black as chief executive at the end of 2014. Ms O’Donnell was awarded an OBE for services to local government in 2022.

She said: “I’ve been privileged to have had the opportunity to serve our city for longer than I could ever have imagined when I joined the District Council more than 30 years ago – and fortunate to share nearly my whole my working life with people that have been so dedicated to Glasgow and its people.”