| Post: | Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic |
| Native Name: | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson na h-Eaconamaidh agus na Gàidhlig |
| Incumbent: | Kate Forbes |
| Incumbentsince: | 9 May 2024 |
| Department: | Scottish Government Scottish Cabinet |
| Seat: | Edinburgh |
| Appointer: | First Minister |
| Inaugural: | Keith Brown |
| Formation: | 18 May 2016 |
| Salary: | £126,452 per annum [1] (including £72,196 MSP salary) |
The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic is a position in the Scottish cabinet since May 2024.[2] The current Cabinet Secretary is Kate Forbes, who has served since May 2024 alongside her role as Deputy First Minister.
The Cabinet Secretary is supported by the Minister for Business, Richard Lochhead, and the Minister for Employment and Investment, Tom Arthur.
The role was first titled Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, with the initial holder being Keith Brown, who was appointed in May 2016. At its inception, the Cabinet Secretary had responsibilities for the Scottish economy, infrastructure, trade and investment, business, industry, employment, trade unions and energy. The Cabinet Secretary was assisted by the Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy and the Minister for Employability and Training.
The post was abolished in June 2018, with the "economy" part of the brief moving to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work and the infrastructure responsibilities moving to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity.[3]
In February 2020, a Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture was appointed, taking over many of the responsibilities of the former portfolio, which were thus again held separately from the Finance brief.[4] The role was later once again remerged with the Finance brief to create the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, held by Kate Forbes.
Under First Minister Humza Yousaf, Neil Gray was appointed as Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Secretary, with the Finance brief again becoming a separate post. Following a reshuffle, Màiri McAllan held the portfolio of Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy.
In May 2024, John Swinney retitled the role to Economy and Gaelic, and appointed Kate Forbes concurrently with her role of Deputy First Minister of Scotland. McAllan retained the other part of her role as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy.
The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic is responsible for:[5]
Infrastructure investment
The following public bodies report to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic:[5]
As is typical of Scottish government roles, the Economy portfolio has gone through many iterations since its inception. The current holder is Kate Forbes, who has held the role since May 2024.
| Name | Portrait | Entered Office | Left Office | Party | First Minister | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work | |||||||
| Keith Brown | 18 May 2016 | 26 June 2018 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | |||
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work | |||||||
| Derek Mackay | 26 June 2018 | 5 February 2020 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | |||
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture | |||||||
| Fiona Hyslop | 17 February 2020 | 19 May 2021 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | |||
| Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy | |||||||
| Kate Forbes | 20 May 2021 | 28 March 2023 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | |||
| Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy | |||||||
| Neil Gray | 29 March 2023 | 8 February 2024 | Scottish National Party | Humza Yousaf | |||
| Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy | |||||||
| Màiri McAllan | 8 February 2024 | 8 May 2024 | Scottish National Party | Humza Yousaf | |||
| Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic | |||||||
| Kate Forbes | 9 May 2024 | Incumbent | Scottish National Party | John Swinney | |||