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 ...

formed the Swinney government on 8 May 2024, following his appointment 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 ...

at the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh a ...

History

On 29 April 2024,

Humza Yousaf Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim cabinet minister in the Scottish Government. A member of the Sc ...

announced his intention to resign the leadership of the Scottish National Party, and as First Minister. Swinney announced his candidacy for the internal leadership contest, and was elected unopposed.

Shona Robison Shona McRory Robison (born 26 May 1966) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottis ...

resigned as Deputy First Minister on 8 May in favour of

Kate Forbes Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy since 2020. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Skye, Loc ...

, but was re-appointed as Swinney's Finance Secretary with additional responsibility for local government. The majority of Swinney's cabinet was previously part of Humza Yousaf's previous governments. The only addition to the cabinet was Kate Forbes replacing Shona Robinson as

Deputy First Minister of Scotland 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 post-hold ...

, and taking part of

Màiri McAllan Màiri Louise McAllan (born 1993) is a Scottish politician serving as Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP ...

's responsibility for economy into her portfolio as Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic. Robinson was, however, re-appointed by Swinney as Finance Secretary with additional responsibility for local government, with McAllan appointed as the reduced portfolio of

Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy ( gd, Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Net Zero agus Cumhachd), commonly referred to as the Net Zero Secretary ( gd, Rùnaire na h-Eaconamaidh), is a Scottish Government Cabinet (government), Cabinet pos ...

. Additionally, only one new junior minister joined Swinney's government, former minister

Ivan McKee Ivan Paul McKee (born September 1963) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise since 2021, having previously served as Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance, 2020-21 and Mini ...

, with the number of junior ministerial posts being reduced from 16 to 14. The portfolio of

Minister for Employment and Investment The Minister for Employment and Investment, commonly referred to as the Employment Minister is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet. The incumbent reports to the ...

was created, with Tom Arthur appointed to the role. The ministers for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

were abolished, with their incumbents

Jamie Hepburn James Douglas Hepburn (born 21 May 1979) is a Scottish politician who has served as Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been Member ...

and

Kaukab Stewart Kaukab Stewart (born 1967/68) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Kelvin since May 2021. At the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, she became one of the first wome ...

moved to other positions.

Joe FitzPatrick Joseph Martin FitzPatrick (born 1 April 1967) is a Scottish politician who is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City West since the 2007. He is Convener of the Sc ...

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

position was abolished, and he therefore departed government along with Equalities Minister

Emma Roddick Emma Roddick (born 30 July 1997) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Highlands and Islands since May 2021. Early life Roddick was born to Sue, a social worker, and Davy Roddi ...

and Parliamentary Business Minister

George Adam George James Adam (born 8 June 1969) is a Scottish politician who has served as the Minister for Parliamentary Business since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisl ...

. 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 ...

formally approved the appointments of

and

on 9 May 2024. Prior to Swinney's appointment, it was announced in February 2024 that

would be taking maternity leave. From 1 July 2024, McAllan will begin her maternity leave, where

Gillian Martin Gillian Anne Martin is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Aberdeenshire East since 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has served as Convener of the Health, Social Care an ...

will be appointed as Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, and

Alasdair Allan Alasdair James Allan (born 6 May 1971) is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency since 2007. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served as a Scottish ...

will be appointed as Acting Minister for Climate Action.

Cabinet

May 2024 – present

List of junior ministers

May 2024 to present

Scottish law officers

Notes

References

{{Scottish National Party 2024 establishments in Scotland Cabinets established in 2024 Scottish governments

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

Current governments Ministries of Charles III