First Minister of Scotland
position
First Minister of Scotland is the leader of the government of Scotland. The First Minister is usually the person who is the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Scottish Parliament.
| First Minister of Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: Prìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba | |
|---|---|
 Royal Coat of Arms used by the Monarch in Scotland | |
 Flag of Scotland | |
| Office of the First Minister Scottish Government Scottish Cabinet Scottish Parliament | |
| Style | First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal[1] (formal) First Minister (informal) The Right Honourable (UK and Commonwealth) His/Her Excellency[2] (international) |
| Status | Head of government and Minister of the Crown[3] |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | Scottish Parliament |
| Residence | Bute House |
| Seat | St Andrew's House, Edinburgh |
| Nominator | Scottish Parliament |
| Appointer | The Monarch |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure (following nomination by the Scottish Parliament) |
| Inaugural holder | Donald Dewar |
| Formation | 17 May 1999 |
| Deputy | Deputy First Minister of Scotland |
| Salary | £165,678 per annum (2023)[a][5] (including £67,662 MSP salary) |
| Website | firstminister |
The current First Minister of Scotland is Humza Yousaf of the Scottish National Party, since 29 March 2023 after Nicola Sturgeon, the longest-serving First Minister resigned. The first was Donald Dewar, who died in office in 2000. The official residence of First Minister is Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland.
List of First Ministers of Scotland
change- Political parties
- Status
Background and italics indicates caretaker First Minister
- Legend
- — Indicates appointed without an election
- (—) Indicates acting first minister
- † Indicates died in office
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) constituency |
Term of office | Party | Election (parliament) |
Government | Deputy | Monarch (reign) |
Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Tenure | ||||||||||
| 1 | 
|
Donald Dewar (1937–2000) MSP for Glasgow Anniesland Premiership |
17 May 1999 | 11 October 2000† | 1 year, 147 days | Labour | 1999 (1st) |
Dewar | Jim Wallace | _(cropped)_(3-to-4_aspect_ratio).jpg) Elizabeth II (1952–2022) |
[6] | |
| (—) | 
|
Jim Wallace (born 1954) MSP for Orkney |
11 October 2000 | 27 October 2000 | 16 days | Liberal Democrat | — (1st) |
Caretaker | Vacant | |||
| 2 | 
|
Henry McLeish (born 1948) MSP for Central Fife Premiership |
27 October 2000 | 8 November 2001 | 1 year, 12 days | Labour | — (1st) |
McLeish | Jim Wallace | |||
| (—) | 
|
Jim Wallace (born 1954) MSP for Orkney |
8 November 2001 | 27 November 2001 | 19 days | Liberal Democrat | — (1st) |
Caretaker | Vacant | |||
| 3 | 
|
Jack McConnell (born 1960) MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw Premiership |
27 November 2001 | 16 May 2007 | 5 years, 170 days | Labour | — (1st) |
McConnell I | Jim Wallace | |||
| 2003 (2nd) |
McConnell II | |||||||||||
| Nicol Stephen | ||||||||||||
| 4 | .jpg)
|
Alex Salmond (1954–2024) MSP for Gordon (until 2011) MSP for Aberdeenshire East (from 2011) Premiership |
17 May 2007 | 18 November 2014 | 7 years, 185 days | SNP | 2007 (3rd) |
Salmond I | Nicola Sturgeon | [7] | ||
| 2011 (4th) |
Salmond II | |||||||||||
| 5 | 
|
Nicola Sturgeon (born 1970) MSP for Glasgow Southside Premiership |
20 November 2014 | 28 March 2023 | 8 years, 128 days | SNP | — (4th) |
Sturgeon I | John Swinney | [8] | ||
| 2016 (5th) |
Sturgeon II | |||||||||||
| 2021 (6th) |
Sturgeon III | |||||||||||
.jpg) Charles III (2022–present) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 
|
Humza Yousaf (born 1985) MSP for Glasgow Pollok Premiership |
29 March 2023 | 7 May 2024 | 1 year, 219 days | SNP | — (6th) |
Yousaf I | Shona Robison | [9] | ||
| Yousaf II | ||||||||||||
| 7 | _(cropped).jpg)
|
John Swinney (born 1964) MSP for Perthshire North Premiership |
8 May 2024 | Incumbent | 179 days | SNP | — (6th) |
Swinney | Kate Forbes | |||
Caretaker First Ministers of Scotland
change- Jim Wallace (Scottish Liberal Democrats) - 11 October 2000 – 27 October 2000
- Jim Wallace (Liberal Democrats) – 8 November 2001 – 27 November 2001
Deputy First Ministers of Scotland
change- Jim Wallace (Scottish Liberal Democrats) – 19 May 1999 – 23 June 2005
- Nicol Stephen (Scottish Liberal Democrats) – 27 June 2005 – 17 May 2007
- Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party) – 17 May 2007 – 19 November 2014
- John Swinney (Scottish National Party) – 21 November 2014 – 29 March 2023
- Shona Robison (Scottish National Party) – 29 March 2023 – 8 May 2024
- Kate Forbes (Scottish National Party) – 8 May 2024 – present
Residence
change
The official residence of the First Minister is Bute House. It is located in Edinburgh.
Notes
change- ↑ The previous First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, froze her salary at £140,496 (2008–09 levels) when she took office and donated the additional pay back to the Scottish government.[4]
References
change- ↑ "The Keeper". insideros.blog. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon named as global advocate for UN gender equality campaign". BelfastTelegraph. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
UN under-secretary-general Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka said: "It is my honour to announce today her excellency Ms Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, as an inaugural HeForShe global advocate for gender equality.
- ↑ "The role and powers of the Prime Minister". Parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ↑ "Five things about Scottish politicians' tax returns". BBC News Online. 7 February 2023.
- ↑ "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
- ↑ "Donald Dewar". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ↑ "Alex Salmond". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ↑ "Biography: Nicola Sturgeon". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ↑ "Biography: Humza Yousaf". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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