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First Minister of Scotland

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] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom in Scotland.svg
Royal Coat of Arms used by the Monarch in Scotland
Flag of Scotland.svg
Flag of Scotland
John Swinney - First Minister (53720492021) (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
John Swinney
since 8 May 2024
Office of the First Minister
Scottish Government
Scottish Cabinet
Scottish Parliament
StyleFirst Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal[1]
(formal)
First Minister
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(UK and Commonwealth)
His/Her Excellency[2]
(international)
StatusHead of government and Minister of the Crown[3]
Member of
Reports toScottish Parliament
ResidenceBute House
SeatSt Andrew's House, Edinburgh
NominatorScottish Parliament
AppointerThe Monarch
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
(following nomination by the Scottish Parliament)
Inaugural holderDonald Dewar
Formation17 May 1999
(26 years ago) (1999-05-17)
DeputyDeputy First Minister of Scotland
Salary£165,678 per annum (2023)[a][5]
(including £67,662 MSP salary)
Website{{URL|example.com|optional display text}}

The current First Minister of Scotland is John Swinney of the Scottish National Party, since 8th May 2024. 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

Political parties

     Scottish Labour Party     Scottish Liberal Democrats     Scottish National Party

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 First Minister.jpg 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 Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg
Elizabeth II
(1952–2022) 		[6]
(—) Jim Wallace 1999.jpg Jim Wallace
(born 1954)
MSP for Orkney 		11 October 2000 27 October 2000 16 days Liberal Democrat —
(1st) 		Caretaker Vacant
2 Official Portrait of Henry McLeish, 2000.jpg 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.jpg Jim Wallace
(born 1954)
MSP for Orkney 		8 November 2001 27 November 2001 19 days Liberal Democrat —
(1st) 		Caretaker Vacant
3 Jack McConnell Official Portrait 2001.jpg 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 Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland (cropped).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 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon official portrait (cropped).jpg 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
King Charles III (July 2023).jpg
Charles III
(2022–present)
6 First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf (cropped 4).jpg Humza Yousaf
(born 1985)
MSP for Glasgow Pollok
Premiership 		29 March 2023 7 May 2024 2 years, 252 days SNP —
(6th) 		Yousaf I Shona Robison [9]
Yousaf II
7 John Swinney - First Minister (53720492021) (cropped).jpg John Swinney
(born 1964)
MSP for Perthshire North
Premiership 		8 May 2024 Incumbent 1 year, 212 days SNP —
(6th) 		Swinney Kate Forbes

Caretaker First Ministers of Scotland

Deputy First Ministers of Scotland

Residence

Bute House.jpg

The official residence of the First Minister is Bute House. It is located in Edinburgh.

First Minister Of Scotland Media

Notes

  1. ↑ 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

  1. ↑ "The Keeper". insideros.blog. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "The role and powers of the Prime Minister". Parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  4. ↑ "Five things about Scottish politicians' tax returns". BBC News Online. 7 February 2023. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64537218. 
  5. ↑ "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Donald Dewar". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  7. ↑ "Alex Salmond". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  8. ↑ "Biography: Nicola Sturgeon". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  9. ↑ "Biography: Humza Yousaf". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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