The Deputy First Minister of Scotland ( gd, Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba; sco, Heid Meinister Depute o Scotland) is the second highest ranking minister of the Government of Scotland, behind the

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chair ...

. The post-holder deputises for the

in period of absence or overseas visits, and will be expected to answer to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

on behalf of the First Minister at

First Minister's Questions First Minister's Questions are question time sessions held respectively in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd. First Minister's Questions is an opportunity for members of each legislature to question the respe ...

John Swinney John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from ...

of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

(SNP) is the current Deputy First Minister of Scotland, he was appointed by

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...

on the 21 November 2014.

Functioning responsibilities

The post is not recognised in statute (in comparison with the post of First Minister which is established by the

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

), and its holder is simply an ordinary member of the Scottish Government. The post has nonetheless existed since the establishment of the

and Scottish Government in 1999. When one party governs alone, the Deputy First Minister is a senior member of the governing party, typically the party's deputy leader (though at present this is not the case, as Keith Brown is the

depute leader). When the government is formed by a coalition, the Deputy First Minister is usually the leader of the minority partner. The Deputy First Minister, within the Scottish Government, has direct responsibility and control over the strategy of the Scottish Government, delivery and outcomes of ministerial portfolios, resilience, as well as cross-government co-ordination of public service reform. Alongside the responsibilities of the post-holders functions as Deputy First Minister, the post holder is also required to have direct responsibility for a cabinet secretary post. The current Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, is also Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery.

Nomination and election

The Additional Member System used to elect Members of the Scottish Parliament makes it difficult for a single party to have an absolute majority. Between 1999 and 2007, the Scottish Executive was formed by a Labour and Liberal Democrat

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

, with the leader of Scottish Labour serving as First Minister and the leader of the Scottish Lib Dems serving as Deputy First Minister. Although the

(SNP) formed a single party minority administration following the 2007 election, the post was not abolished despite there being no need to recognise the status of a second party leader, instead being given to the SNP's depute leader,

. When Sturgeon became First Minister, the party's depute leader, Stewart Hosie, was serving in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

and did not have a seat in the Scottish Parliament. The Deputy First Minister's post thus went to

List of Acting First Ministers

List of Deputy First Ministers

References

{{authority control Ministerial posts of the Scottish Government

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Functioning responsibilities

Nomination and election

List of Acting First Ministers

List of Deputy First Ministers

See also

References