Who is Alex Cole-Hamilton?
BBCAlex Cole-Hamilton: The basics
Age: 48
Education: Madras College, then politics and international relations at Aberdeen University
Family: He and his wife Gillian, who has also stood for the Lib Dems, have three children
Who is he?
Alex Cole-Hamilton moved to Scotland from Hertfordshire, England, as a child.
He attended Madras College in St Andrews, then went on to study politics and international relations at Aberdeen University.
Before becoming a politician, he worked for children's charities, including YouthLink Scotland and Aberlour.
The father-of-three has said it was his experience of working with vulnerable children, and what he saw as politicians' failure to help them, that inspired him to get into politics.
What was his route into politics?
Born into a Liberal Democrat family, Cole-Hamilton had an early introduction to campaigning and has recalled how he helped to deliver leaflets during the 1987 general election campaign at the age of nine.
Cole-Hamilton made several unsuccessful attempts to be elected to Holyrood before he finally won the Edinburgh Western seat in 2016.
In 2021, he took over from Willie Rennie as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
What are his key pledges?
His party says that this election campaign will focus on "change with fairness at its heart".
Their key policies are:
- Deliver "first-rate" health services so GPs, dentists or mental health professionals are available when needed
- Insulating cold homes and using Scottish renewable energy to reduce bills and
- Helping households with the cost-of-living crisis by insulating cold homes and using Scottish renewable energy to reduce energy bills
- Invest in roads, ferries and public transport
- Expand pupil support in every school