List of first ministers of Scotland

The First Minister of Scotland is the leader of the Scottish Government, Scotland's devolved government. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Scottish Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world. The First Minister is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and is nominated by the Scottish Parliament before being officially appointed by the monarch.

  • Top left: Donald Dewar was the first ever first minister of Scotland.
  • Top right: Jack McConnell was the youngest first minister on the day he was sworn in.
  • Bottom left: Alex Salmond was the longest serving first minister.
  • Bottom right: Nicola Sturgeon is the current and first female first minister.

Currently, the First Minister is Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party (SNP), who succeeded Alex Salmond in November 2014 following his resignation after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Sturgeon has led the Government of the 6th Scottish Parliament since 2021. Sturgeon, and before that, Alex Salmond, previously led the governments of the 3rd and 4th Scottish Parliaments which was first elected in 2007 as a minority government, and re-elected in 2011, where they formed the first majority government in the Scottish Parliament.[1][2][3][4]

The longest-serving First Minister is Alex Salmond, who surpassed Jack McConnell on 7 November 2012 and spent a total of 7 and a half years in the role.[5] Donald Dewar was the first person to hold the position, while Nicola Sturgeon is the first female first minister; she will become the longest-serving first minister on 25 May 2022.

Chronological list of first ministers of Scotland
No. Portrait Name
(birth and death)
Constituency		 Term of office Political party Term
(Election)		 Ministry Deputy First Minister
(Term)
1 Donald Dewar
(1937–2000)†
MSP for Glasgow Anniesland		 17 May
1999		 11 October
2000		 1 year, 147 days Scottish Labour 1st
(1999)		 Dewar
Lab – LD		 Jim Wallace (LD)
(19 May 1999 – 23 June 2005)
— Jim Wallace (acting)
MSP for Orkney		 11 October 2000 27 October 2000 16 days Scottish Liberal Democrats
2 Henry McLeish
(born 1948)
MSP for Central Fife		 27 October
2000		 8 November
2001		 1 year, 12 days Scottish Labour McLeish
Lab – LD
— Jim Wallace (acting)
MSP for Orkney		 8 November
2001		 27 November
2001		 19 days Scottish Liberal Democrats
3 Jack McConnell
(born 1960)
MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw		 27 November
2001		 16 May
2007		 5 years, 170 days Scottish Labour 1st McConnell
Lab – LD
2nd
(2003)		 2nd McConnell
Lab – LD
Nicol Stephen (LD)
(27 June 2005 – 17 May 2007)
4 Alex Salmond
(born 1954)
MSP for Gordon until 2011
MSP for Aberdeenshire East from 2011		 17 May
2007		 18 November
2014		 7 years, 185 days Scottish National Party 3rd
(2007)		 1st Salmond
SNP (minority)		 Nicola Sturgeon (SNP)
(17 May 2007 – 19 November 2014)
4th
(2011)		 2nd Salmond
SNP
5 Nicola Sturgeon
(born 1970)
MSP for Glasgow Southside		 20 November
2014		 Incumbent 7 years, 163 days 1st Sturgeon
SNP		 John Swinney (SNP)
(21 November 2014 – present)
5th
(2016)		 2nd Sturgeon
SNP (minority)
6th
(2021)		 3rd Sturgeon
SNP – Green
(co-operation, from Aug 2021)

† Died in office.

Timeline
Nicola SturgeonAlex SalmondJack McConnellHenry McLeishJim WallaceDonald Dewar

References
  1. Wintour, Patrick (4 May 2007). "SNP wins historic victory". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  2. "Scottish elections 2007". The Guardian. London. 15 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  3. Carrell, Severin (6 May 2011). "Stunning SNP election victory throws spotlight on Scottish independence". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  4. "Scottish election: SNP wins election". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  5. "Longest-serving First Minister Salmond will not 'go on and on'". BBC News. 7 November 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
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