First Minister of Scotland
The first minister of Scotland is the head of government of Scotland and the keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, one of the great officers of state in Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the executive branch of the devolved government.
The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development, and presentation of the Scottish Government's policies. 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. The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament by members of the Scottish Parliament, and is formally appointed by the monarch.
Members of the Scottish Cabinet and junior ministers of the Scottish Government are appointed by the first minister. The first minister is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the wider government and cabinet. Additionally, the first minister is responsible for appointing the country's law officers – the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland, as well as nominating and appointing the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Lord Justice Clerk and Senator's of the College of Justice, judges who sit within the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
The first minister is supported by their deputy first minister, as well as cabinet secretaries, junior ministers, government directorates and civil servants. The first minister is advised on matters by their chief of staff. The office is currently held by John Swinney, the MSP for Perthshire North and the leader of the Scottish National Party. 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.
History
Following the referendum in 1997, in which the Scottish electorate gave their consent, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive were established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Labour government of the prime minister, Tony Blair.Under the Acts of Union 1707, the former Parliament of Scotland merged with the English parliament, forming the Parliament of Great Britain. The re-establishment of a dedicated legislature and executive for Scotland was known as devolution and initiated a measure of home rule in its domestic affairs, such as health, education and justice. The devolution movement came to a head in the 1970s, and resulted in a Royal Commission on the Constitution, leading to the Scotland Act 1978. This would have established an autonomous Scottish Executive with a leader termed 'First Secretary', a post for which Strathclyde political leader Geoff Shaw was widely expected to be chosen. Shaw died prematurely and the failure of the referendum of 1979 led to the Act not being implemented.
Following the 1997 referendum and Scotland Act 1998, Scottish devolution led to the establishment of a post of first minister as head of the devolved Scottish Government.
Since 1999, the Secretary of State for Scotland of the British Government has had a much reduced role at the renamed Scotland Office as a result of the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.
Election and term
Nomination and selection
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.Although any member of the Scottish Parliament can be nominated for first minister, the government must maintain the confidence of the Scottish Parliament in order to gain supply and remain in office. For this reason, every permanent first minister has been the leader of the largest party, or the leader of the senior partner in any majority coalition. There is no term of office for a first minister; they hold office "at His Majesty's pleasure". In practice, a first minister cannot remain in office against the will of the Scottish Parliament; indeed, the Scotland Act explicitly requires the first minister to either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution if his or her government "no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament." Whenever the office of first minister falls vacant, the sovereign is responsible for appointing the new incumbent upon nomination by the Scottish Parliament; the appointment is formalised at a meeting between the sovereign and the first minister designate.
Given the additional member system used to elect its members, it is difficult for a single party to gain an overall majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. 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.
After the election of the Scottish Parliament, a first minister must be nominated within a period of 28 days. 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. If an incumbent first minister is defeated in a general election, they do not immediately vacate office. The first minister only leaves office when the Scottish Parliament nominates a successor individual.
Oath of office
After accepting office, the first minister takes the Official Oath, as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868. The oath is tendered by the Lord President of the Court of Session at a sitting of the Court in Parliament House in Edinburgh. The oath is:Term length
The period in office of a first minister is not linked to the term of members of the Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Act set out a four-year maximum term for each session of Parliament. The Act specifies that an election to the Scottish Parliament will be held on the first Thursday in May, every four years, starting from 1999. Parliament can be dissolved and an extraordinary general election held, before the expiration of the four-year term, but only if two-thirds of elected MSPs vote for such action in a resolution of the Scottish Parliament. If a simple majority of MSPs voted a no-confidence motion in the first minister or government, that would trigger a 28-day period for the nomination of a replacement; should that time period expire without the nomination of a new first minister, then an extraordinary election would have to be called.The first minister, once appointed, continues in office as the head of the Scottish Government until they resign, are dismissed or die in office. Resignation can be triggered by the passage of a Motion of No Confidence in the first minister or the Scottish Government or by rejecting a motion of confidence in the Scottish Parliament. In those situations, the first minister must tender their resignation and the resignation of their government. In such circumstances, the presiding officer would appoint an interim first minister, until the Scottish Parliament determined on a new nominee to be appointed by the monarch.
During their tenure in office, the First Minister is supported by the Chief of Staff to the First Minister, who acts at the first minister's principal adviser on the first minister's strategic programme in government, inter-governmental relations, co-ordination of the team of special advisers to the first minister.
Legislative powers
Scots Law and civil service
As detailed in the Scotland Act 1998, the First Minister is responsible for recommending to the monarch a nominee for the position of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland. The First Minister is also responsible for advocating whether a Lord Advocate or Solicitor General who is currently in post should be removed, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament. Additionally, the First Minister has various functions and responsibilities regarding the appointments and removal of Scottish judges within the Scottish court system.The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government is nominated by the First Minister. 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. The First Minister is directly responsible for the management of the civil service in Scotland, as well as civil service staff within the Scottish Government.
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 Act 2006. Additionally, the First Minister considers any action relating to recommendations made by the Standards Commission or Chief Investigating Officer in regards of Crown Appointments under Section 23 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc Act 2000.
The First Minister is an official consultee regarding selections for membership of the Supreme Court.
Security and intelligence
The Office of the First Minister has responsibility for all functions relating to reports made by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and Intelligence Services Commissioner as detailed in both Sections 58 and 60 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. During times of national crisis, such as flooding, terror attacks or public health emergencies, the First Minister chairs the Scottish Government Resilience Room. The function of the resilience room committee is to co-ordinate policy and response to major events in Scotland that affect the population and, with the help of specialist teams within the division assist department, develop detailed risk assessments which are used to inform policy across Scotland.Resilience response
There are currently different levels of resilience response in Scotland which is overseen by the First Minister and Scottish Government ministers:- Cabinet Sub-Committee: Scottish Government Resilience CSC
- The Scottish Resilience Partnership
- Scottish Government Resilience : SGoR
- Scottish Government Resilience : SGoR
- Scottish Government Resilience Room