The elections for the first Scottish Parliament in almost 300 years were held on the 6 th of May 1999 and MSPs were sworn in on the 8 th of May, after which the Presiding Officer and two deputies were elected. The First Minister was elected on the 13 th May and the state opening by the Queen took place on 1 st July 1999. The second elections were held on 1 st May 2003, and the third elections on the 3 rd of May 2007. The parliament originally met at the Church of Scotland's Assembly Halls on the Mound in Edinburgh. It then moved to the controversial new building at Holyrood which was officially opened by the Queen in October 2004. There have been three parliamentary sessons: Session 1 was from 12 th May 1999 to 31 st March 2003 Session 2 was from 7 th May 2003 to 2 nd April 2007 Session 3 began on 9 th May 2007.
