Charles III William, Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP The first minister of Scotland[b], formally known as the First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal,[5] is the head of government of Scotland.

Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad, as part of the Scottish Government's approach to international relations.

[8][9] The office is currently held by John Swinney, the MSP for Perthshire North and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Swinney was elected first minister by the Scottish Parliament on 7 May 2024, and was sworn in the following day at the Court of Session.

The re-establishment of a dedicated legislature and executive for Scotland was known as devolution and initiated a measure of home rule (self-governance) in its domestic affairs, such as health, education and justice.

[14] The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament at the beginning of each term, by means of an exhaustive ballot among its members, and is then formally appointed by the monarch.

[16] The SNP did gain an overall majority of seats in the 2011 election, and thus had enough numbers to vote in its leader, Alex Salmond, as first minister for a second term.

[15] Under the terms of the Scotland Act, if the Parliament fails to nominate a first minister, within this time frame, it will be dissolved and a fresh election held.

The permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant in Scotland who serves to promote, implement, develop and communicating the Scottish Government's policy agenda.

[21] The First Minister has responsibility in respect of the exercise of operation and functions during vacancies which may arise in the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice Clerk and the incapacity of the holders of those offices as outlined in the Senior Judiciary (Vacancies and Incapacity)(Scotland) Act 2006.

[21] During times of national crisis, such as flooding, terror attacks or public health emergencies, the First Minister chairs the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR).

[24] The First Minister is directly responsible for co-ordinating this policy and would be called to attend the UK Government's emergency room, COBRA, for instances such as a significant terrorist attack, a serious outbreak of animal disease or emergencies affecting large numbers of British citizens overseas.

Such matters include the recommendations of Scottish candidates for honours and dignities, which are currently a reserved matter under the devolution settlement, and advice on the appointment of the Lords Lieutenants in Scotland, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and members of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Forestry Commission.

[28] Whilst foreign policy remains a reserved matter,[29] the Scottish Government, and the First Minister, may promote the economy and Scottish interests on the world stage and encourage foreign businesses, international devolved, regional and central governments to invest in Scotland.

[34] He was initially concerned about Scotland's defence strategy and feared the country's major cities, such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, would be targets based on their economic strength and significance to the Scottish, UK and European economies.

[34] On September 13, 2001, McLeish moved a motion in the Scottish Parliament to send condolences to the people of the United States and New York.

[35] Through the motion, McLeish said "the Parliament condemns the senseless and abhorrent acts of terrorism carried out in the United States yesterday and extends our deepest sympathies to those whose loved ones have been killed or injured".

[36] Henry McLeish's successor, Jack McConnell engaged in a total of 28 international visits during his tenure as First Minister between 2001 and 2007.

McConnell carried out international engagements in Ireland, five in the United States, eight in Belgium, South Africa, two in Italy, Austria, three in France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, China, Malawi, Canada and Australia.

Salmond's international engagements included visits to Belgium, five in the United States, Sri Lanka, three in Ireland, Spain, Hong Kong, two in China, Denmark, Guernsey, two in the Isle of Man, Norway and India.

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

[41][40] First minister John Swinney, who succeeded Humza Yousaf in May 2024, welcomed President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, to Bute House in Edinburgh in June 2024 for a series of "high–level engagements", including strengthening bilateral relations between Zambia and Scotland, economic cooperation, education, and sustainable development.

[44] Other cabinet secretaries and junior ministers within the Scottish Government participate in tier two (the Inter-ministerial Standing Committee) and tier 3 (the Inter-ministerial Group) of The Council which may include areas including education, finance and economy, investment and trade and rural affairs.

First minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the issue of gender equality and the role of women in conflict resolution in April 2017.

Unlike the office of first minister, the post of deputy is not recognised in statute and confers no extra status on the holder.

[49][50] The scale of precedence in Scotland was amended by royal warrant on 30 June 1999 to take account of devolution and the establishment of the post of first minister.

Sturgeon said she would claim £135,605, £9,082 less than her entitlement, as part of a voluntary pay freeze pegging her salary to 2008/09 levels.

[54] The first minister traditionally resides at Bute House which is located at number 6 Charlotte Square in the New Town of Edinburgh.