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- Top left: Donald Dewar was the first ever First Minister of Scotland
- Top right: Alex Salmond was the first SNP leader to win an election in Scotland
- Bottom left: Nicola Sturgeon was the first female and longest serving First Minister
- Bottom right: John Swinney is the current and seventh since devolution
The first minister of Scotland is the head of government of Scotland, leader of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. 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 international relations. Since the establishment of the office in 1999, seven men (including both tenures as acting first minister by Jim Wallace) and one woman has served in the position.
Donald Dewar was the inaugural person to hold the position following his election in 1999 and is regarded as the "Father of the Nation".[1] Following Dewar's death in 2000 whilst still serving in office, he was succeeded by his Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Henry McLeish. McLeish resigned from the office of first minister on 8 November 2001 following the officegate scandal and is the shortest-serving First Minister, having served in the role for 1 year and 12 days.[2] Humza Yousaf, who served as first minister between March 2023 and May 2024 is the second shortest–serving first minister after a period in office of 1 year and 39 days.[3] Sturgeon is the longest-serving First Minister, having surpassed Salmond on 25 May 2022.[4] Salmond in turn spent a total of 7 and a half years in the role.
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.[5][6][7][8] 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.
- ^ "BBC News | SCOTLAND | 'Father of nation' dies". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ "The seven men and women who have led Scotland in 25 years of devolution". The Herald. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ Cameron, Joshua Thurston, John Boothman, Kieran Andrews, Laurence Sleator, Greig (29 April 2024). "Humza Yousaf resigns as Scotland's first minister — as it happened". The Times. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Duffy, Judith (25 May 2022). "Sturgeon sets new record for longest term as FM". The National. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ Wintour, Patrick (4 May 2007). "SNP wins historic victory". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ "Scottish elections 2007". The Guardian. London. 15 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Carrell, Severin (6 May 2011). "Stunning SNP election victory throws spotlight on Scottish independence". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ "Scottish election: SNP wins election". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.