| Cabinet Name: | First Sturgeon government |
| Cabinet Number: | 7th |
| Cabinet Type: | government |
| Flag: | Flag of Scotland.svg |
| Flag Border: | true |
| Jurisdiction: | Scotland |
| Incumbent: | 2014–2016 |
| Date Formed: | 20 November 2014 |
| Date Dissolved: | 18 May 2016 |
| Government Head Title: | First Minister |
| Government Head: | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Government Head History: | 2014–2023 |
| Deputy Government Head: | John Swinney |
| State Head Title: | Monarch |
| State Head: | Elizabeth II |
| Total Number: | 25 |
| Opposition Leader: | Jackie Baillie (2014) Kezia Dugdale (2014-15) Iain Gray (2015) Kezia Dugdale (2015-16) |
| Last Election: | 2016 Scottish Parliament election |
| Legislature Term: | 4th Scottish Parliament |
| Previous: | Second Salmond government |
| Successor: | Second Sturgeon government |
Nicola Sturgeon formed the first Sturgeon government on 20 November 2014, following the resignation of previous SNP First Minister, Alex Salmond. Sturgeon, who had been Deputy First Minister under Salmond, was elected to succeed him by the SNP majority in the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2014, before being officially sworn in in front of senior judges at the Court of Session the next day.
Sturgeon's cabinet dissolved on 18 May 2016 following the 2016 election to the 5th Scottish parliament, which saw Sturgeon returning to office and forming a second government.
Following the defeat of the campaign for Scottish independence in a 2014 referendum, then First Minister Alex Salmond, who had arranged the referendum, announced that he would resign as Scottish National Party leader and first minister after a new leader was chosen.[1] Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon took the leadership unopposed at the SNP's annual conference on 14 November 2014. This also effectively made her First Minister-designate, given the SNP's outright majority in the Scottish Parliament. She was elected to succeed Salmond as First Minister by the Scottish Parliament on 19 November, and formally appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the next day.[2]
On 21 November 2014 Sturgeon's first cabinet was announced. It was formed of ten people: Sturgeon and nine cabinet secretaries. It was gender-balanced with five men and five women.[3] There were thirteen junior ministerial positions outwith the cabinet.[4]
| Junior ministers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Post | Minister | Term |
| Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Parliamentary Business | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Transport and Islands | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Youth and Women's Employment | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Children and Young People | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Public Health | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment | Marco Biagi MSP | 2014–2016 |
| Minister for Housing and Welfare | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform | 2014–2016 | |
| Minister for Europe and International Development | 2014–2016 | |
| Law officers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post | Name | Portrait | Term | |
| Lord Advocate | The Right Hon.Frank Mulholland QC | 2011–2016 | ||
| Solicitor General for Scotland | Lesley Thomson QC | 2011–2016 | ||