[2][3] In 2021, he was appointed health secretary during the later phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and was responsible for the NHS's recovery, as well as the mass roll-out of the vaccination programme which began under his predecessor.

After facing an imminent motion of no confidence amid a government crisis, he announced his intention to resign as first minister and party leader on 29 April 2024.

[13][12] Due to their non-African background, her family was regularly harassed and occasionally assaulted: following an incident where her mother was attacked with an axe, they emigrated to Scotland.

[22] He was the volunteer media spokesperson for the charity Islamic Relief,[22] worked for community radio for twelve years and on a project which provided food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.

Yousaf then worked as parliamentary assistant for a few other MSPs including Anne McLaughlin, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, who was then First Minister.

[33] When being sworn in, he took his oath in English and then in Urdu, reflecting his Scottish-Pakistani identity;[34] he was dressed in a traditional sherwani decorated with a Partick Thistle tartan touch, and a plaid draped over his shoulder.

[39][40] In October 2013, he outlined the SNP's plans to set out the United Nations target for overseas aid at 0.7% in an independent Scotland and accused the UK Government of going back on its promise in the 2010 coalition agreement to guarantee that level of spending.

[47] The bill has been criticised by the Catholic Church, the National Secular Society as well as writers,[48] and in September 2020 it was amended to remove prosecution for cases of unintentionally stirring up hate, which could theoretically include libraries stocking contentious books.

[49] Despite his initial promises, Yousaf in October 2020 said that the exception to the Public Order Act 1986 which allows people to use "otherwise illegal language" in their own homes should be abolished.

Sturgeon formed a third administration and appointed Yousaf as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Jeane Freeman, who stepped down at the election.

[52] Professor Steve Turner, Scotland officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, contradicted him and said that children's wards were "not seeing a rise in cases with Covid".

[56] Yousaf said he had promised to take his stepdaughter to Harry Potter World, tweeting that: "Most important job I have is being a good father, step-father & husband to my wife and kids.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane criticised the remark as "reckless messaging [that] could put lives at risk" and instead urged people to call an ambulance if they thought they needed one.

[65][66] He committed to challenging the UK Government over its decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and stated he wanted to increase support for Scottish independence before delivering a referendum.

[69] He said he was not "wedded" with using the 2024 United Kingdom general election as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence and that one of the issues would be the inability for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to vote.

[70][71] Yousaf reaffirmed his commitment to defend the Scottish Parliament against the UK Government's Section 35 order, which aims to block the gender reform bill.

[73] Yousaf stated his support for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, while his opponents Kate Forbes and Ash Regan opposed it.

[76] Yousaf was sworn in as First Minister of Scotland on 29 March 2023, after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III,[77][78] becoming the youngest person and the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to hold the office since it was created in 1999.

[82] During his first meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, Yousaf requested a section 30 order to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Yousaf declared that the government had placed a commitment to a constitution that gave the population "the right to access a system of healthcare free at the point of need, as well as rules on land ownership and environmental provisions".

The programme for government focuses on reducing poverty, delivering economic growth, tackle climate change and provide high quality public services.

[103] In December 2023, Yousaf met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan without UK officials, leading Foreign Secretary David Cameron to issue a warning, threatening to withdraw FCDO support for Scottish ministers due to a breach of protocol.

[106] Yousaf declared his desire to set up a permanent Scottish Government envoy to the European Union in Brussels to "aid the cause of independence".

[110] Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats described the blunder as "clumsy, insensitive and displays a real ignorance of international affairs" from the "man who is about to lead Scotland".

[115] He called on Home Secretary Suella Braverman to resign after she branded pro-Palestinian protesters "hate marchers" and far-right counter-protesters subsequently clashed with police in London.

[117] After Yousaf terminated the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens, he faced imminent votes of no confidence in himself and his government.

[118] At a event in Edinburgh in August 2024, Yousaf admitted that he had made a mistake when he ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.

[137][138][139][140] On 24 June 2023, at an event at the Caird Hall in Dundee, Yousaf restated the SNP's intention of using the next general election as a de facto referendum to demand Scottish independence.

[141] In October 2023, he announced that this would take the form of interpreting the SNP winning a majority of UK parliamentary seats in Scotland as a vote for independence.

The complaint was upheld by the Care Inspectorate who found that the nursery "did not promote fairness, equality and respect" in terms of its admission policy.