As a result of a majority of Scots voting to remain in the United Kingdom in the 2014 independence referendum, Salmond resigned as first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party.

In response, Sturgeon made calls for a Section 30 order, the transfer of power to hold a second referendum, which have been rejected by prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.

Sturgeon led the Scottish Government's response, implementing a series of lockdowns, restricting large aspects of social interactions and oversaw the rollout of the vaccine programme.

Shortly afterwards, opposition parties held a motion of no confidence against Sturgeon after a parliamentary committee concluded she had breached ministerial code during the Alex Salmond scandal.

[20] On 20 November 2014, Sturgeon was officially sworn into the office of First Minister of Scotland at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

[26] On 4 April 2015, a leaked memo from the Scotland Office alleged that Sturgeon privately told the French ambassador Sylvie Bermann that she would "rather see David Cameron remain as PM".

[36] As the constitution is a reserved matter under the Scotland Act 1998, for a future referendum on Scottish independence to be legal under UK law, it would need to receive the consent of the British Parliament to take place.

[37] Prior to the day the Prime Minister triggered Article 50, formally allowing the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union, the Scottish Parliament voted 69 to 59 in favour of another independence referendum.

[57] Observers also concluded that opposition to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy in coastal communities was a factor behind large swings to the Tories in North East seats previously held by nationalists for decades.

[58][59] Devolved policy areas also played a part in the campaign; footage of a nurse telling Sturgeon she had been forced to use foodbanks because of the SNP's decision to freeze pay for NHS staff went viral[60][61] and pollster Professor John Curtice told the BBC: "The SNP may want to reflect that their domestic record, not least on schools, is beginning to undermine their support among those who on the constitutional question are still willing to support the Nationalist position.

[65][66][67][68] In the wake of the results, Sturgeon said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has "no right" to stand in the way of another Scottish independence referendum after an "overwhelming" SNP election victory.

The investigating panel will consist of Dame Elish Angiolini, a former Solicitor General for Scotland and lord advocate, and James Hamilton, a former director of public prosecutions in the Republic of Ireland.

In the following days, Sturgeon issued further advice and guidance as the number of positive cases began to increase, but had said that closures of public places such as schools and shops "would be reviewed".

On 14 December 2021, Sturgeon announced restrictions for the festive period, which involved cutting down on household gatherings and reinforcing social distancing measures which were previously lifted in August 2021.

Statistics released just prior to the election revealed that child poverty in Scotland had been "gradually increasing" over the previous decade[105] and Sturgeon promised to make ending it "a national mission".

Following cuts to rehab budgets,[107] the number of Scots dying from drugs in 2019 rose to higher levels than in any other country in Europe and Sturgeon said she wanted "to turn that around".

Sturgeon held meetings with various leaders and politicians from international countries such as US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

[133][134][132] Key documentation which might have explained why ministers signed the contracts without appropriate safeguards to protect taxpayers' money was lost, and Sturgeon later said this too was "regrettable" and that "the Government will learn lessons.

[147] In December 2022, Sturgeon announced that her party would hold a special conference in Edinburgh in March 2023 which would explore the route towards a "de facto" referendum on independence.

Alba Party leader Alex Salmond responded by calling for Sturgeon's government to vote to dissolve the Scottish Parliament to have a snap general election be held in October 2023 which would be used as a "de facto" referendum.

On 17 January 2023, the UK Government decided to implement a section 35 order of the Scottish Act 1998 which prevented the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from gaining Royal Assent.

Prime Minister and Conservative leader Rishi Sunak thanked Sturgeon for her long-standing service in the role and hoped that her successor would continue to co-operate with the UK Government.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton stated that Sturgeon showed "dedication and immense personal commitment" to the role of First Minister and praised her for giving "comfort to Scots" during her weekly Covid briefings during the height of the pandemic.

"[170] In 2021 Audit Scotland concluded that, "Progress on closing the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived school pupils has been limited"[171] and fell short of the Government's aims.

[174] Critics of the changes within the SNP had accused Sturgeon of being "out of step" on the issue, and expressed concerns that the reforms would be open to abuse and allow predatory men into women's spaces.

[180] Large numbers of LGBT activists followed suit and Sturgeon released a video message in which she said that transphobia is "not acceptable" and pledged to do "everything I can to change that impression and persuade all of you that the SNP is your party and that you should come home where you belong.

[191] Sturgeon was highly critical of Donald Trump and his policies during the 2016 United States presidential election and had publicly backed his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Sturgeon claimed following comments made by Trump in relation to Muslims entering the United States that he was "not fit" for the ambassadorial role with the Scottish Government.

[195] Sturgeon highlighted that Spain should follow "the shining example" that was created as part of the Edinburgh Agreement between the Scottish and British Governments that allowed Scotland to hold a legally binding referendum.

[200][201] Sturgeon stated that "there is no connection between Scottish independence and the situation in Ukraine" in response to criticism of two SNP members after they compared the two issues together, both later apologised for the remarks.