The first McConnell government was formed by

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister fo ...

on 22 November 2001 during the

1st Scottish Parliament This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the first Scottish Parliament at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 members, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight ...

, following

Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author and academic who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2001. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Fife from ...

's resignation as

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 ...

as a consequence of the Officegate scandal. The first McConnell government was a continuation of the Labour– Liberal Democrat coalition that had existed under the previous McLeish and Dewar governments. It ended on 20 May 2003 following the

2003 election The following elections occurred in the year 2003. Africa * 2003 Beninese parliamentary election * 2003 Djiboutian parliamentary election * 2003 Guinean presidential election * 2003 Mauritanian presidential election * 2003 Nigerian parliamentary ...

to the

2nd Scottish parliament This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the second Scottish Parliament at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. Of the 129 members, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight ...

, which saw McConnell returning to office as first minister to form a second government.

History

Henry McLeish resigned as first minister and leader of Scottish Labour in the aftermath of the Officegate scandal, which centred on expenses claimed for his Glenrothes constituency office. McConnell was elected as Labour leader and was nominated for the post of

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 '' ...

by a vote of 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 Holy ...

on 22 November, defeating

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 ...

leader

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 2 ...

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

leader David McLetchie and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

MSP Dennis Canavan by 70 votes to 34, 19 and 3 respectively. Shortly after being appointed McConnell began making appointments to his cabinet.

Jim Wallace James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ...

remained in the post of deputy first minister while Cathy Jamieson took over Mr McConnell's education brief and

Wendy Alexander Wendy Alexander (born 27 June 1963) is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotlan ...

and Ross Finnie remained as ministers.

Sam Galbraith Samuel Laird Galbraith (18 October 1945 – 18 August 2014) was a Scottish politician and neurosurgeon who served as Minister for Environment, Sport and Culture from 2000 to 2001 and Minister for Children and Education from 1999 to 2000. Galb ...

and Angus MacKay stood down and

Jackie Baillie Jacqueline Marie Baillie (' Barnes; born 15 January 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020. She has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Dumbarton constituency since ...

Sarah Boyack Sarah Herriot Boyack (born 16 May 1961) is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Ce ...

and Tom McCabe reshuffled out of government, while Susan Deacon was offered the post of social justice minister but refused the offer and moved to the

backbenches In Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Pala ...

Cathy Jamieson Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She p ...

, Mike Watson,

Malcolm Chisholm Malcolm George Richardson Chisholm (born 7 March 1949) is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Health and Community Care from 2001 to 2004 and Minister for Communities from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, he ...

Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...

, Patricia Ferguson and Andy Kerr were all promoted to cabinet.

resigned for her post of Enterprise Minister on 4 May 2002. Her vacancy was filled by

, and his post as Social Justice Minister was in turn filled by

Margaret Curran Margaret Patricia Curran (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 to 2015 and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scot ...

, who had been his deputy.

Hugh Henry Hugh Henry (born 12 February 1952) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire South, formerly Paisley South, from 1999 to 2016. Background Henry was born in Glasgow and ...

left the post of Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care on 9 May 2002, and took up the post of Deputy Minister for Social Justice. Frank McAveety filled his vacancy. Richard Simpson resigned from his post as Deputy Justice Minister on 26 November 2002, and was replaced by

. Des McNulty filled Henry's vacancy as Deputy Health Minister. In the

2003 Scottish Parliament election The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party MSP, rem ...

, the Labour– Liberal Democrat coalition was renewed and Jack McConnell returned to a second term as first minister and formed a second administration.

Cabinet

Junior ministers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell ministry, First Scottish governments 2001 establishments in Scotland 2003 disestablishments in Scotland Coalition governments of the United Kingdom Ministries of Elizabeth II