John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition, and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and, following boundary changes, has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
Fiona Jane Hyslop is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport since 2024. Hyslop is the only current serving minister from the first SNP government having served in various cabinet and junior ministerial offices under first ministers Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf; first as education secretary from 2007 to 2009, then culture secretary from 2009 to 2020, and latterly as economy secretary from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Linlithgow constituency since 2011, having represented the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011.
Michael Stephen Matheson is a Scottish politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first representing the Central Scotland region and, since 2007, the Falkirk West constituency. Matheson previously served in the Scottish government as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care from 2023 to 2024, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport from 2018 to 2023, and Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2014 to 2018.
Shona McRory Robison is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 2024. Robison has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City East since 2003 and was an additional member for the North East Scotland region from 1999 to 2003.
Angela Constance is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Almond Valley since 2007.
Keith James Brown is a Scottish politician serving as Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2018. He is a former Royal Marines commando and has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2007, first representing the Ochil constituency from 2007 to 2011, then the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency since 2011. Brown previously served in the Scottish Cabinet, most recently as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans from 2021 to 2023.
Kevin Morrice Stewart is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Minister for Transport from 29 March 2023 to 6 June 2023. He is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Aberdeen Central since 2011. He previously served as Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care from 2021 to 2023 and as Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning from 2016 to 2021.
Humza Haroon Yousaf is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and then as health secretary from 2021 to 2023. He has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, having previously been a regional MSP for Glasgow from 2011 to 2016.
Derek Mackay is a former Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work from 2016 to 2020. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire North and West from 2011 to 2021. Mackay served as a government minister from 2011 to 2020 under the administrations of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.
Mairi Angela Gougeon is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Angus North and Mearns since 2016.
Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth is a Scottish politician who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since 2016.
Ben Macpherson is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Social Security and Local Government in the Scottish Government from May 2021 to March 2023, having previously served as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, Minister for Public Finance and Migration and Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency since 2016.
Ashten Regan is a Scottish politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Eastern since 2016. Initially elected to parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP), she defected to the Alba Party. Regan served under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the minister for community safety from 2018 until she resigned in 2022 in protest against her government's Gender Recognition Reform bill.
Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary-designate for Economy and Gaelic since May 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy from 2020 to 2023. Forbes has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch since 2016.
Maree Todd is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross since May 2021. She was previously an MSP for the Highlands and Islands from the election in May 2016. She has been serving as the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport since March 2023. She previously served as the Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport from 2021 to 2023, and as the Minister for Children and Young People from 2017 to 2021.
There was a Scottish National Party leadership election to choose the new Depute leader of the Scottish National Party at the SNP's conference on 14–15 October 2016. The SNP's Westminster Group Leader Angus Robertson MP won the election.
Nicola Sturgeon formed the third Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 6th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of First Minister on 18 May 2021 and announced the formation of a new Scottish National Party minority government on 19 May.
The 2024 Scottish National Party leadership election took place to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) following the resignation of Humza Yousaf on 29 April 2024, amid a government crisis. Nominations closed on 6 May, with John Swinney emerging as the only candidate and was subsequently elected unopposed as the party's new leader.
