First Minister of Scotland

First Minister of Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: *Prìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba*
First Minister of Scotland ; Scottish Gaelic: Prìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba;
	Royal Coat of Arms used by the Monarch in Scotland
	; Flag of Scotland
	Incumbent; John Swinney; since 8 May 2024
	Office of the First Minister; Scottish Government; Scottish Cabinet; Scottish Parliament
Style	First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal ; (formal); First Minister; (informal); The Right Honourable; (UK and Commonwealth) ; His/Her Excellency; (international)
Status	Head of government and Minister of the Crown
Member of	Scottish Parliament; Scottish Cabinet; Privy Council; British-Irish Council; PM and Heads of Devolved Governments Council;
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; (24 years ago)
Deputy	Deputy First Minister of Scotland
Salary	£165,678 per annum (2023); (including £67,662 MSP salary)
Website	firstminister.gov.scot

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.

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 | change source]

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.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death) constituency	Took office	Left office	Tenure	Party		Election (parliament)	Government	Deputy	Monarch (reign)	Ref.
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	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	Jim Wallace
								2003 (2nd)	McConnell II	Nicol Stephen
4		Alex Salmond (born 1954) 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]
4			17 May 2007	18 November 2014	7 years, 185 days		SNP	2011 (4th)	Salmond II	Nicola Sturgeon		^[7]
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
								2021 (6th)	Sturgeon III		Charles III (2022–present)
6		Humza Yousaf (born 1985) MSP for Glasgow Pollok Premiership	29 March 2023	7 May 2024	1 year, 41 days		SNP	— (6th)	Yousaf I	Shona Robison		^[9]
6			29 March 2023	7 May 2024	1 year, 41 days		SNP	— (6th)	Yousaf II	Shona Robison		^[9]
7		John Swinney (born 1964) MSP for Perthshire North Premiership	8 May 2024	Incumbent	1 day		SNP	— (6th)	Swinney	Kate Forbes

Caretaker First Ministers of Scotland[change | change source]

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 | change source]

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 | change source]

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

Notes[change | change source]

↑ 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 | change source]

↑ "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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[5] 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]

[1] "The Keeper". insideros.blog. 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.

[6] "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.

[7] "Donald Dewar". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.

[8] "Alex Salmond". www.parliament.scot. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-26.

[9] "Biography: Nicola Sturgeon". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-26.

[10] "Biography: Humza Yousaf". www.gov.scot. Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.

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