SCOTLAND'S exam body has appointed a new chief executive.
Fiona Robertson, currently Director of Learning at the Scottish Government, will take up the role in July.
David Middleton, chair of the SQA, said Ms Robertson had a wealth of experience across government.
In the last six years she has led a range of Scottish Government initiatives including the development and delivery of Curriculum for Excellence, the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the National Improvement Framework.
READ MORE: Head of SQA set to retire
Mr Middleton said: "Fiona has had a distinguished career in the Scottish Government and currently occupies a leading role in overseeing the strategic direction of Scottish education.
"I believe Fiona will relish the opportunity to lead SQA in making its unique contribution to Scottish life. I look forward to working with her.”
Ms Robertson said: “I am very pleased to be joining SQA which is so central to the education and training system in Scotland and it is a great privilege to be its new chief executive.”
John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary, congratulated Ms Robertson on her appointment.
He said: "Fiona is an outstanding public servant and will bring a broad range of experience and credibility in the education sector to the role.
"I look forward to continuing to work closely with Fiona and the SQA board to maintain our excellent qualifications and assessments system.”
Ms Robertson joined the Scottish Government as an economist and spent much of her early career providing analysis on the performance of the Scottish economy.
READ MORE: Unions threaten summer of exam chaos
She has since undertaken a number of central strategy roles including a review of Scotland's public bodies.
Ms Robertson is a graduate of Strathclyde University and Glasgow University.
The appointment comes after former chief executive Dr Janet Brown announced she was stepping down last year after eleven years in the post.
Ms Brown, 67, who joined the organisation in 2007, has overseen a difficult time for the exam body with the controversial roll-out of new qualifications.
Teaching unions criticised the SQA for its handling of the introduction of new Highers, with particular concerns over a maths paper in 2015 that officials admitted was “too hard”.
The body is also the subject of industrial turmoil with unions threatening strikes which could disrupt this summer's exam diet.
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