Premiership of Alex Salmond

Premiership of Alex Salmond 17 May 2007 – 18 November 2014
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Cabinet	First Salmond government Second Salmond government
Party	Scottish National Party
Election	2007 2011
Seat	Bute House
← Jack McConnell Nicola Sturgeon →

Alex Salmond's term as first minister of Scotland began on 17 May 2007 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed his Scottish National Party's win at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, where his party defeated the incumbent Labour Party by just one seat. Salmond's term ended on 18 November 2014, following his resignation in the aftermath of the Yes campaign's defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Salmond led the Scottish National Party (SNP) through the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, where his party won 47 seats, one more than the incumbent Scottish Labour. Initially approaching the Scottish Liberal Democrats for a coalition, they declined, and instead, Salmond formed a minority government with the confidence and supply deal of the Scottish Greens. Entering office, the Salmond government conducted a series of reforms of the Scottish Executive, including rebranding the Executive to the Scottish Government. A month into his term, he was faced with the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack, Scotland's worst terrorist attack since the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. The first nationalist First Minister, Salmond's government made attempts to push legislation for a referendum on Independence, however, the SNP failed to obtain support from other parties and withdrew the draft bill. His government passed legislation on free prescription charges and free university tuition fees. Salmond was committed to tackling the climate crisis through the Partnership Agreement with the Maldives, one of the most exposed countries to the consequences of rising sea levels.

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election resulted in Salmond winning an unprecedented landslide victory. The SNP won the first ever single-party majority, with 69 out of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament. Salmond used his majority to push for a referendum on the second-half of the parliament term. As constitutional matters remain reserved to the British Government, Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to grant the powers to hold a referendum known as the Edinburgh Agreement. Salmond’s government oversaw the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which received widespread acclaim. The Scottish independence referendum was held on 18 September 2014, with a majority of the Scottish people voting against independence. As a result, Salmond resigned as First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP. He was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon, his deputy first minister.

This article is part of a series about Alex Salmond
Political positions Electoral History Scottish independence Social nationalism SNP (until 2018) Alba Party (since 2021) Leader of the SNP First Term 1990 SNP leadership election Scottish devolution 1999 election Second Term 2004 SNP leadership election First Minister of Scotland Premiership First Ministry 2007 election Free Tuition Fees Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's Release Glasgow Airport attack Free Prescription charges Second Ministry 2011 re-election 2014 European election 2014 referendum Resignation Post Premiership Alex Salmond scandal Leader of the Alba Party 2021 election Indyref2 UK General elections 1992 1997 2005 2010
v t e