Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sco ...

formed the first Yousaf government on 29 March 2023 following his appointment as

first minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chairs ...

at the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

. It followed the resignation of

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

as first minister and

leader of the Scottish National Party The Leader of the Scottish National Party is the head of the SNP. The incumbent is Nicola Sturgeon who was elected unopposed in November 2014, succeeding Alex Salmond as party leader and First Minister of Scotland. History The post was offici ...

(SNP) on 15 February, triggering a leadership contest that Yousaf won. The Scottish Green Party voted to remain in government with the SNP, which saw Yousaf's administration continue with the Bute House agreement, a pro-independence majority government. His cabinet consists of seven women and three men, the first majority women cabinet. Yousaf dissolved the power-sharing agreement with the Greens on 25 April 2024, and moved to form a new SNP

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

, the Second Yousaf government. On Monday 29 April 2024,

announced that he was resigning after dissolving the power-sharing agreement with the Greens and two votes of no confidence were put forward - one by the Scottish Conservatives against him, the other by Scottish Labour against the whole SNP government.

History

2023

On 15 February 2023,

announced her intention to resign the leadership of the SNP and as First Minister. Yousaf declared his candidacy for the 2023 leadership election. He won the internal party contest to become leader on 27 March 2023. Cabinet_meeting

On 28 March, Yousaf was nominated by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

to become the next first minister and on the same day he announced Shona Robison as his deputy first minister. Yousaf offered Kate Forbes, who he had beaten in the leadership race, a demotion as rural affairs secretary, but she turned down this offer and left government. Forbes' campaign manager in the election race and who served as the business minister under Sturgeon,

Ivan McKee Ivan Paul McKee (born September 1963) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise since 2021, having previously served as Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance, 2020-21 and Mini ...

, also announced he would leave government. Yousaf was formally sworn into office as first minister on 29 March 2023 and announced the formation of a new government. There was speculation Robison, who he announced the previous day as his deputy, was to take over the finance portfolio from Forbes, which was later confirmed as true.

Neil Gray Neil Charles Gray (born 16 March 1986) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development since 2022. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parli ...

, who was Yousaf's campaign manager, was appointed the wellbeing economy secretary, with responsibility for energy. Michael Matheson succeeded Yousaf as health secretary, with

Shirley-Anne Somerville Shirley-Anne Somerville (born 2 September 1974) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament ...

succeeding Robison as the social justice secretary.

Angus Robertson Angus Struan Carolus Robertson (born 28 September 1969) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture since 2021. Former Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 201 ...

and Mairi Gourgeon remained in their respective roles as the constitution secretary and rural affairs secretary. Jenny Gilruth was promoted to cabinet as education secretary, along with Màiri McAllan as the net zero secretary. Angela Constance, who previously served in the cabinets of Alex Salmond and

, returned to cabinet as the justice secretary. She succeeded Keith Brown, the SNP's depute leader, who was removed from government. Yousaf appointed

Jamie Hepburn James Douglas Hepburn (born 21 May 1979) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been Member ...

the minister for independence, something the Scottish Conservatives criticised for being a “taxpayer-funded nationalist campaigner”. In early April 2023, in response to

Operation Branchform Operation Branchform is a Police Scotland investigation into possible fundraising fraud in the Scottish National Party (SNP) that was launched in 2021 and is ongoing . The investigation concerns allegations that £666,953 raised by the SNP since ...

and the arrest of former SNP CEO

Peter Murrell Peter Tierney Murrell (born 8 December 1964) is the current chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party (SNP). He is married to Nicola Sturgeon, the party's leader and First Minister of Scotland. Early life and education Murrell w ...

, Johnston Carmichael, the auditor for the SNP, publicly announced they had resigned. Yousaf later confirmed that Johnston Carmichael had resigned around October 2022 but he was unaware of this until after winning the leadership campaign. SNP President Michael Russell claimed in April 2023 that the SNP was facing its biggest challenge in 50 years. On 11 April 2023, Yousaf stated that Peter Murrell would not be suspended because he is "innocent until proven guilty".

2024

On 25 April 2024

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

First Minister Humza Yousaf unilaterally announced that the power sharing agreement with the Scottish Green Party - which had been in place since 31 August 2021 - was dissolved with immediate effect, moving to form an SNP minority government. This resulted in the Green Party's two Ministers Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater leaving government and their respective posts of

Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights The Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Government#Cabinet, Scottish Cabinet but reports directly ...

and

Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity The Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet but reports directly to the First Minister of Scotland. The ...

being abolished.

Cabinet

March 2023 to February 2024

February 2024 to April 2024

List of junior ministers

March 2023 to April 2024

Scottish law officers

Notes

References

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