Joan Kerr Sturgeon (née Ferguson; born 23 October 1952)[1] is a Scottish politician and former dental nurse who served as the Provost of North Ayrshire from 2012 to 2016.

[6] Although not politically active at the time, Sturgeon was an SNP voter and was in-favour of Scottish devolution in both the 1979 and 1997 referendums.

[8] Following Sturgeon's re-election in 2012, she was elected Provost of North Ayrshire after defeating Scottish Labour's Ian Clarkson.

As a result, a by-election was held and the SNP selected Sturgeon's husband, Robin, as the candidate.

[11] On 17 August 2016, the SNP announced its decision to resign from the administration, stating "“given that the SNP group no longer command the largest representation on the council, it is only right that Labour be given the opportunity to form the next administration of the council".