[8][9] In a press conference in Edinburgh with his wife, Bridget McConnell, he stated: "If I become first minister, it would be very wrong for my family or anybody else to suffer because my behaviour then is still a secret today.

[14] In his acceptance speech, he stated he was "deeply honoured to receive such overwhelming support" and highlighted that much work still needed to be done "to make devolution a success" and achieve "first class public services".

He had support of his Labour Party and their coalition partner the Liberal Democrats, following talks over concession for electoral reform for local government elections and the abolishment of university tuition fees.

[23] As a result of him becoming First Minister, he was appointed Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and to the Privy Council, earning the title 'The Right Honourable' for life.

Cathy Jamieson, Mike Watson, Malcolm Chisholm, Iain Gray, Patricia Ferguson and Andy Kerr were all promoted to cabinet.

[26][27][28] Following the appointment of his first government, McConnell used the first meeting of his newly formed cabinet that he intended for his administration to focus on the priorities of both the country and its people, pledging for unnecessary distractions to be avoided.

Speaking during the first meeting of his cabinet, McConnell told his ministerial team he wished for them to "get rid of unnecessary paperwork and diversions" in order for ministers to be able to focus on the "key areas".

[29] Entering government, McConnell vowed that his key policy objectives would relate to schools, health services, jobs, crime and transport which he dubbed "the peoples priorities".

[29] Shortly afterwards, the Constitution Unit think tank operated by University College London issued a warning that disputed McConnell's position on not altering the rate of income tax in Scotland by suggesting that the Scottish Executive may be required to raise income tax in order to fund the executives increase in spending.

[34] The Scottish Executive was warned that it could face a funding shortfall of £2 billion as a result on its pledge to increase the pay of teachers, spending on education, free care for the elderly and local government.

In order to achieve this, McConnell advocated for the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPP), stating "we'll work together to sort out how we give people maximum return for every one of their pounds we are spending.

We demand the quality and PPPs don't just attract finance; they make sure private contractors deliver hospitals and schools for our communities on time, within budget, well designed and easily maintained".

Additionally, McConnell advocated for greatest use of specialist teachers in schools to provide learning in subjects including music and sport.

This was followed by the "Fresh Talent initiative" which was created and developed to focus at addressing the demographic decline in Scotland and ageing Scottish population by attracting young and skilled immigrants, primarily from other European Union countries (such as Poland and Slovakia primarily) to be attracted to Scotland as a place to live and work.

McConnell announced his second government on 20 May 2003 and promised to "restore public confidence in devolution" with a pledge to tackle issues including youth crime and anti-social behaviour within communities.

Jamieson was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the youth crime initiative launched by the Labour Party, which would see parents of persistent young offenders penalised.

The initiative was criticised by the administrations coalition partners, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, but they became natural on their position of the initiative following assurances from McConnell that Scottish Liberal Democrat members would have an increase role in his new cabinet and the return of the proportional representation (PR) voting system for elections to local government in the country.

His presidency of the conference was described by the European Strategy as "providing an important opportunity for Scotland to play a key role on the EU stage".

[46] One of the most significant implementations during his tenure as first minister was the successful campaign to ban smoking in Scottish public places, such as pubs, public transport and restaurants, making Scotland the first country within the United Kingdom to do so, which lead to McConnell receiving praise for his leadership on this issue, ultimately leading other countries to follow.

McConnell instructed the Scottish Executive to produce findings on the role Scotland could play in tackling issues in African communities such as poverty and the aids pandemic.

[56] McConnell attended the 31st G8 summit which was held in Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, and welcomed guests invited to the conference to Glasgow Prestwick Airport on arrival.

Those who want to see action on affordable homes will regret it too.As Leader of the Opposition in Holyrood, McConnell took part in First Minister's Questions (FMQs).

In one session of FMQs, he claimed the new SNP administration was making several U-turns on transport policy and its position on student debt and council taxes.