Fort William farmer Malcolm Mathieson has been appointed convener of the Crofting Commission.
Mr Mathieson, who is an accountant and a partner in the 1,800-acre Moy Farm hill farm enterprise near Fort William, has been appointed following the resignation of Rod Mackenzie from the post of convener.
He said he was disappointed that Mr Mackenzie had resigned but he planned to progress the work his predecessor had achieved in the past four years.
“Like all organisations, the past 12 months have been difficult with very little access to Great Glen House and staff having to adjust to home working,” said Mr Mathieson, who was vice-chairman of the Crofting Commission’s audit and finance committee prior to taking on the convener role.
“This has brought about challenges to the Commission, but our staff have risen to that challenge and there are some exciting projects currently being undertaken which will continue to improve our operating performance over the next nine months.”
Crofting Commission chief executive officer, Bill Barron, welcomed the new appointment and said: “The management and staff of the Commission were disappointed that Rod decided to leave the post of Convener but are delighted that continuity has been achieved by Malcolm being appointed as his replacement.
“We look forward to working with Malcolm in driving forward the continuing progress of the Commission.”