List of first ministers of Scotland

Top left: Donald Dewar was the first ever first minister of Scotland.
Top right: Nicola Sturgeon was the first female and longest serving first minister
Bottom left: Humza Yousaf was the youngest and first minority ethnic first minister.
Bottom right: John Swinney is the current and seventh since devolution.

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.

The current first minister is John Swinney, who leads the Government of the 6th Scottish Parliament, as did his predecessors Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon. Before that, Alex Salmond, 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 5th Scottish Parliament.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Sturgeon is the longest-serving First Minister, having surpassed Salmond on 25 May 2022.^[5] Salmond in turn spent a total of 7 and a half years in the role. Donald Dewar was the first person to hold the position. Henry McLeish is the shortest-serving First Minister, having served in the role for 1 year and 12 days.

^ Wintour, Patrick (4 May 2007). "SNP wins historic victory". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 March 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ "Scottish elections 2007". The Guardian. London. 15 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ 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.
^ "Scottish election: SNP wins election". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
^ Duffy, Judith (25 May 2022). "Sturgeon sets new record for longest term as FM". The National. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

[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] Duffy, Judith (25 May 2022). "Sturgeon sets new record for longest term as FM". The National. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.

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