List of first ministers of Scotland explained

The First Minister of Scotland is the leader of the Scottish Government, Scotland's devolved government. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Scottish Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world. The First Minister is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and is nominated by the Scottish Parliament before being officially appointed by the monarch.

The current first minister is John Swinney, who leads the Government of the 6th Scottish Parliament, as did his predecessors Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon. Before that, Alex Salmond, led the governments of the 3rd and 4th Scottish Parliaments which was first elected in 2007 as a minority government, and re-elected in 2011, where they formed the first majority government in the 5th Scottish Parliament.[1] [2] [3] [4]

Sturgeon is the longest-serving First Minister, having surpassed Salmond on 25 May 2022.[5] Salmond in turn spent a total of 7 and a half years in the role. Donald Dewar was the first person to hold the position. Henry McLeish is the shortest-serving First Minister, having served in the role for 1 year and 12 days.

List of First Ministers of Scotland

The parties shown are those to which the first ministers belonged to at the time they held office, and the constituencies shown are those they represented while in office.

Political parties
Status
  • Legend
  • PortraitName
    Term of officePartyElection
    GovernmentDeputyMonarch
    Took officeLeft officeTenure
    1Donald Dewar
    17 May 199911 October 2000†bgcolor=Labour1999
    (1st)
    DewarJim Wallace
    Elizabeth II
    (1952–2022)
    [6]
    (—)Jim Wallace
    11 October 200027 October 2000bgcolor=Liberal Democrat
    (1st)
    CaretakerVacant
    2Henry McLeish
    27 October 20008 November 2001bgcolor=Labour
    (1st)
    McLeishJim Wallace
    (—)Jim Wallace
    8 November 200127 November 2001bgcolor=Liberal Democrat
    (1st)
    CaretakerVacant
    3Jack McConnell
    27 November 200116 May 2007Labour
    (1st)
    McConnell IJim Wallace
    2003
    (2nd)
    McConnell II
    Nicol Stephen
    4Alex Salmond
    17 May 200718 November 2014SNP2007
    (3rd)
    Salmond INicola Sturgeon[7]
    2011
    (4th)
    Salmond II
    5Nicola Sturgeon
    20 November 201428 March 2023SNP
    (4th)
    Sturgeon IJohn Swinney[8]
    2016
    (5th)
    Sturgeon II
    2021
    (6th)
    Sturgeon III

    Charles III
    (2022–present)
    6Humza Yousaf
    29 March 20237 May 2024SNP
    (6th)
    Yousaf IShona Robison[9]
    Yousaf II
    7 John Swinney
    8 May 2024 Incumbent bgcolor=
    (6th)
    Kate Forbes

    References

    Citations

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. News: SNP wins historic victory . London . . Patrick . Wintour . Patrick Wintour . 4 May 2007 . 15 December 2016 . 23 March 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170323055546/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/may/04/scotland.devolution . live .
    2. News: Scottish elections 2007 . London . . 15 January 2008 . 15 December 2016 . 2 April 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160402043703/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/scottishelections2007 . live .
    3. News: Stunning SNP election victory throws spotlight on Scottish independence . London . . Severin . Carrell . 6 May 2011 . 15 December 2016 . 5 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131205050108/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/may/06/snp-election-victory-scottish-independence . live .
    4. News: Scottish election: SNP wins election . . 6 May 2011 . 20 June 2018 . 12 January 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180112151350/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13305522 . live .
    5. News: Sturgeon sets new record for longest term as FM. Duffy. Judith. 25 May 2022. The National. 25 May 2022. 25 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220525043034/https://www.thenational.scot/news/20163056.sturgeon-sets-new-record-longest-term-fm/. live.
    6. Web site: Donald Dewar . 2023-03-26 . www.parliament.scot . 26 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326012644/https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/donald-dewar . live .
    7. Web site: Alex Salmond . 2023-03-26 . www.parliament.scot . 26 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230326012643/https://www.parliament.scot/msps/current-and-previous-msps/alex-salmond . live .
    8. Web site: Biography: Nicola Sturgeon . 2023-03-26 . www.gov.scot . 20 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220720030216/https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/first-minister/biography/ . live .
    9. Web site: Biography: Humza Yousaf. 7 May 2024 . www.gov.scot . 7 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240507151510/https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/first-minister/biography-humza-yousaf/ . live .