Humza Yousaf's term as first minister of Scotland began on 29 March 2023 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session, and ended on 7 May 2024, when he resigned amid two votes of no confidence in him and his government.

After facing an imminent motion of no confidence, he announced his intention to resign as first minister and party leader on 29 April 2024, and was succeeded by John Swinney.

[13][14] Yousaf was officially sworn into office as first minister of Scotland on 29 March 2023 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III.

Upon his first year in office, Anas Sarwar, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, gave his assessment of Yousaf, stating: "He's a nice guy, he's just not up to the job."

[18] That same day, Kate Forbes, who Yousaf defeated in the SNP leadership race, announced she was leaving government after turning down a demotion as rural affairs secretary in his cabinet.

[30] His departure comes amid the controversial imprisonment of Isla Bryson, a transgender woman convicted twice for rape before their gender transition, who was sent to a women's prison.

[48][49] Yousaf pledged to commit supporting triple energy costs by £30 million, extending the rent cap, extra spending for childcare and established a food security unit.

In the letter, Yousaf claimed that "the UK Government’s demands, including the removal of glass from DRS, would impact the environment, detrimentally affect businesses based in Scotland, and threaten the viability of the scheme".

To mark his first one hundred days as First Minister, Yousaf penned an open letter highlighting the work done by the Scottish Government under his leadership.

In the letter, Yousaf declared that "In the first 100 days, we [the Scottish Government] have defined the core missions of my administration – equality, opportunity, community.

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".

[61] However, the Home Office has repeatedly rejected calls that would see sites established where users can take drugs under the supervision of medical professionals.

He highlighted that £75 million would need to be pulled from construction projects to build new schools in the future if the Scottish Government were to be responsible for paying for the issue to be resolved.

[70] On 2 September 2023, Yousaf claimed that he did not see any reason or need for schools to close temporarily or move to temporary accommodation to rectify the structural issues and concerns caused by the RAAC used during original construction.

The Scottish Government has urged local authorities to prioritise remedial works to resolve the issues relating to RAAC usage.

Serving as Minister for Transport between 2016–2018, Yousaf issued a statement in March 2023 admitting his "share of the blame" over the fiasco, but also highlighted the flaws and the responsibility of other leaders in the government as well as at Ferguson Marine.

He pledged to continue to support primary care services, as well as committing to additional investment in general practices (GP surgeries) in areas of high deprivation.

[79] Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservative Party said that the introduction of a National Care Service looks set to "be another Humza Yousaf disaster".

Yousaf further pledged “The government I lead will continue to focus on protecting our public services and improving the support we provide to help build a stronger economy and a fairer society.

[80] In November 2023, Yousaf's Health Secretary, Michael Matheson, was revealed to have incurred £10,935 in roaming charges after taking a Parliamentary iPad on a family holiday to Morocco.

Matheson claimed that he incurred the charges while completing constituency work, and that he had not been aware that he needed to replace the SIM card in the iPad to switch over to the Scottish Parliament's current mobile contract.

[83] It was subsequently revealed that Matheson had been emailed by Parliamentary officials in February 2022, warning him of the need to update the SIM cards in his devices almost a year in advance of his holiday.

[84] On 19 November, Yousaf re-iterated his confidence in Matheson, describing him as a man of integrity and honesty, and insisted that he had not been misled by the Health Secretary over the bill.

Rowling also said: "Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.

Good political leadership should try to win the argument, build a consensus not sow division.” [96] On 25 April 2024, Yousaf's first cabinet was dissolved, after the Scottish Greens formally left government, and confirmed it would back a vote of no confidence.

[97] During that day's First Minister's Questions, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, confirmed the party would also bring forward a vote of no confidence, saying Yousaf was “not fit for office”.

[101] Regan penned a letter to Yousaf with her list of demands in order to gain her support, with a renowned focus on Scottish independence and protection of women and children's rights amongst the forefront on her agenda.

[112] A series of trade, diplomatic and policy engagements were scheduled to take place during the visit, with Yousaf declaring his desire to set up a permanent Scottish Government envoy to the European Union in Brussels to "aid the cause of independence".

Yousaf told the BBC that there was in fact Ukrainian men in the building and that the group of women he had asked the question to did not appear to take offence.

[116] 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".