The first Salmond government, which was sworn in on 17 May 2007 at the start of the

3rd Scottish Parliament This is a list of Member of the Scottish Parliament, members (MSPs) returned to the third Scottish Parliament at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, MSPs, 73 were elected from first past the post ...

, was an SNP minority government. Having won the largest number of seats in the general election (47 of 129) the SNP sought to form a coalition with the

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...

. When those talks failed, the SNP chose to form a one-party minority government. The SNP and

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 2 ...

signed an agreement where the Greens supported SNP ministerial appointments, but did not offer support for any confidence or budget votes ("confidence and supply"). SNP leader,

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

was elected

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

on 16 May 2007; he was officially sworn in and his slate of ministerial appointments were ratified by the Scottish Parliament the following day.

History

Due to the agreement signed with the Greens, Salmond's investiture vote was successful despite only having 47 of 129 seats in the Parliament. The vote was 49–46, with the SNP and Greens voting in favour and the 46 Scottish Labour MSPs voting against, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstaining. On 16 May 2007, a few hours after Salmond was sworn in by parliament, he announced his intention to form a government composed of five cabinet secretaries and ten junior ministers. Furthermore, the Lord Advocate lost her seat in the cabinet. A cabinet reshuffle took place in February 2009.

Cabinet

May 2007 to February 2009

2007 to 2011

Changes

Fiona Hyslop Fiona Jane Hyslop (born 1 August 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a Member of the Scottish Parliame ...

is demoted from Cabinet and appointed Minister for Culture and External Affairs; Hyslop is replaced as Education Secretary by Michael Russell. * John Elvidge stood down as the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government in June 2010 and was succeeded by

Peter Housden Sir Peter James Housden (born 7 December 1950) is a former public official who worked in local and central government. He served as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government from June 2010 to June 2015. He was previously Permanent Secret ...

Junior Ministers

Scottish Law Officers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmond ministry, First Salmond, first 2007 establishments in Scotland 2011 disestablishments in Scotland Ministries of Elizabeth II