The Leader of the Scottish National Party is the head of the SNP. The incumbent is

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 ...

who was elected unopposed in November 2014, succeeding

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 ...

as party leader and

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 ...

History

The post was officially created on 7 April 1934 with the foundation of the SNP. The role was titled Chairman of the Scottish National Party from 1934 until 1969, with the first chairman,

Alexander MacEwen Sir Alexander Malcolm MacEwen (10 January 1875 – 29 June 1941) was a Scottish politician and solicitor who served as the inaugural leader of the Scottish National Party ( SNP) from 1934 to 1936. Early life Alexander Malcolm MacEwen was bor ...

, appointed to the office in 1934. In 1969 the title of chairman was replaced with that of National Convener, with

William Wolfe William Cuthbertson Wolfe (22 February 1924 – 18 March 2010) was a Scottish accountant, manufacturer and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was the National Convenor (leader) of the SNP from 1969 to 1979, playing a central role in ...

the first person elected as National Convener. The post gained its current title of ''Leader'' at the SNP spring conference on 24 April 2004.

Role

Currently, the leader

, the

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 ' ...

and Leader of the

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 ...

, is responsible for the overall growth. They usually advocate for

Scottish independence Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. S ...

and Pro Europeanism. Keith Brown is the Depute Leader of the

; however, he is not the

Deputy First Minister of Scotland The Deputy First Minister of Scotland ( gd, Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba; sco, Heid Meinister Depute o Scotland) is the second highest ranking minister of the Government of Scotland, behind the First Minister of Scotland. The post-hold ...

. Stephen Flynn is the Leader of the

in Westminster, along with

Mhairi Black Mhairi Black (; or /vaɾʲɪ/ in Scottish Gaelic born 12 September 1994) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, serving as the party's deputy leader in the House of Commons since December 2022. She has been a Member of Parliament (MP) ...

, who is Deputy Leader.

Leaders of the Scottish National Party (1934–present)

Living former party leaders

There are two living former party leaders:

References

Lists of leaders of political parties Scottish National Party politicians {{Scotland-stub