"morning of the 19 September, Alex Salmond announced he intended to step down as Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland at the SNP's Autumn Conference. On the 14 November 2014, Nicola Sturgeon was elected as Leader of the Scottish National Party unopposed, with Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie elected as Depute Leader. On 20 November 2014, Sturgeon was formally sworn in as First Minister of Scotland, becoming the first female to hold the position. She embarked on a tour of Scotland, speaking to 12,000 people at the Hydro Arena in Glasgow on 22 November 2014."
"Scotland to be governed by a Tory government that we hadn't elected"". Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since November 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 (known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011). A law graduate"
"Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since November 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 (known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011). A law graduate of the University of Glasgow, Sturgeon worked as a solicitor in Glasgow."
"History of the Scottish National Party In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a centre left, social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. The SNP has controlled Scotland's devolved legislature since the 2007 election as a minority government, and since the 2011 election as a majority government. Its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is the First Minister of Scotland. The party was founded on 7 April 1934 as the result of a merger between the National Party of Scotland (NPS) and the Scottish Party. Sir Alexander MacEwen became the new party's first leader. The merger was the brainchild of"
"History of the Scottish National Party In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a centre left, social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. The SNP has controlled Scotland's devolved legislature since the 2007 election as a minority government, and since the 2011 election as a majority government. Its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is the First Minister of Scotland. The party was founded on 7 April 1934 as the result of a merger between the National Party of Scotland (NPS) and the Scottish Party. Sir Alexander MacEwen became the new party's first leader. The merger was the brainchild of"
"and junior ministers of the Scottish Government as well as the Scottish law officers, are appointed by the First Minister. As head of the Scottish Government, the First Minister is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the wider government. Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party is the current First Minister of Scotland. Following a referendum in 1997, in which the Scottish electorate gave their consent, a Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government were reconvened by the Labour government of Tony Blair, having been suspended following the Acts of Union in 1707. The process"
"Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician who served as the First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. He was the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for over twenty years, having served for two terms, firstly from 1990 to 2000 and subsequently from 2004 to 2014. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Banff and Buchan between 1987 and 2010, when he stood down to focus on his other roles, and then for Gordon from 2015 to 2017, when he lost his seat to Scottish Conservative candidate Colin"
"of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has served as First Minister of Scotland since November 2014. Founded in 1934 with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, the party has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since Winnie Ewing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election. With the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, the SNP became the second-largest party, serving two terms as the opposition. The SNP gained power at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, forming a minority government, before going on to win the"
"the 2016 election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 63 of the 129 seats available. Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the SNP, has been the First Minister since November 2014. The Conservative Party became the largest opposition party in the 2016 elections, with the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also represented in the Parliament. The next Scottish Parliament election is due to be held on 6 May 2021. Scotland is represented in the British House of Commons by 59 MPs elected from territory-based Scottish constituencies. In the 2017 general election, the SNP won 35 of the 59"
"rate and lower economic inactivity rate. Previously, Constance was a junior Scottish cabinet member. Following defeat in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, Scottish National Party leader and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond announced his resignation as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland. In the aftermath of his resignation, a leadership bid was launched, and current Deputy First Minister of Scotland and SNP Depute leader Nicola Sturgeon was widely tipped to become Salmond's successor. On 30 September 2014, Constance officially launched her bid to become the Depute leader of the Scottish National Party, competing against Stewart Hosie and Keith"
"First Sturgeon government Nicola Sturgeon formed the first Sturgeon government on 20 November 2014, following the resignation of previous Scottish National Party (SNP) First Minister Alex Salmond. Sturgeon, who had been deputy first minister under Salmond, was elected to succeed him by the SNP majority in the Scottish Parliament on 19 November 2014. Following the defeat of the campaign for Scottish independence in a 2014 referendum, then First Minister Alex Salmond, who had arranged the referendum, announced that he would resign as Scottish National Party leader and first minister after a new leader was chosen. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon"
"Scotland. Calls for a feasibility study into the £20,000,000,000 project have previously been made. Founder Ian Paisley led the party from its foundation in 1971 onwards, and retired as leader of the party in spring 2008. Paisley was replaced by former deputy leader Peter Robinson on 31 May 2008, who in turn was replaced by Arlene Foster on 17 December 2015. The following are the terms of office as party leader and as First Minister of Northern Ireland: Members of the House of Commons following 8 June 2017 general election: Members of the House of Lords Members of the Northern"
"the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. The following polls asked about Scottish voters' opinions on Nicola Sturgeon, Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland. The following polls asked about Scottish voters' opinions on Ruth Davidson, Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party. The following polls asked about Scottish voters' opinions on Richard Leonard, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Some opinion pollsters ask voters which party leader they would prefer as Prime Minister — Theresa May (Conservative Party) or Jeremy Corbyn (Labour Party). The questions differ slightly from pollster to pollster: Leadership approval opinion polling"
"government. On 19 May 2011, after Salmond was re-elected as first minister, his cabinet was increased in size, from five cabinet secretaries to eight. Second Salmond government Following the 2011 elections to the 4th Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Party, led by Alex Salmond, formed the second Salmond government on 18 May 2011. This was the first single-party majority government in the history of the devolved parliament. Salmond announced his resignation as leader of the Scottish National Party on 19 September 2014 following the Scottish independence referendum; his resignation took effect on 14 November when Nicola Sturgeon was elected unopposed"
"Parliament, currently Nicola Sturgeon MSP. The head of state in Scotland is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952). There are six Members of the European Parliament elected by Scotland, as the UK is a member state of the European Union. Scotland can best be described as having a multi-party system. In the Scottish Parliament, the centre-left pro-independence Scottish National Party is the party which forms the devolved government; it currently holds a plurality of seats in the parliament (62 out of 129). Opposition parties include: the Scottish Conservative Party (centre-right, conservative), Scottish Labour Party (centre-left, social democratic),"
"the state. This was clearly demonstrated when - although some argue it was influenced by general public dillusionment with Labour - the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat. Alex Salmond (leader of SNP) has since made history by becoming the first First Minister of Scotland from a party other than Labour. The SNP governed as a minority administration at Holyrood following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. Nationalism (support for breaking up the UK) has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years, with a pivotal moment coming at the 2011"
"Five parties had MSPs in the previous parliament: Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour Party led by Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats led by Willie Rennie, Scottish Greens, led by their co-conveners Patrick Harvie and Maggie Chapman. Of those five parties, four changed their leader since the 2011 election. During the campaign, a series of televised debates took place, including party leaders of the elected parties. BBC Scotland held the first leaders’ debate on 24 March, STV broadcast the next on 29 March, and BBC Scotland hosted the"
"government in 2011, lost the majority at the 2016 election, but remain as the largest party. The current First Minister is Nicola Sturgeon, who is the first woman to hold the post, and has served since 19 November 2014. Scottish Government The Scottish Government (; ) is the executive government of the Scottish Parliament. The government was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive under the Scotland Act 1998, which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the result of the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend cabinet meetings, and ministers,"
"Second Salmond government Following the 2011 elections to the 4th Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Party, led by Alex Salmond, formed the second Salmond government on 18 May 2011. This was the first single-party majority government in the history of the devolved parliament. Salmond announced his resignation as leader of the Scottish National Party on 19 September 2014 following the Scottish independence referendum; his resignation took effect on 14 November when Nicola Sturgeon was elected unopposed to replace him. The second Salmond government was dissolved upon Sturgeon becoming first minister on 19 November 2014, and replaced with the first Sturgeon"
"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 Education and Skills. 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, 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 Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a"
"Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician and a Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was the First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011. McConnell became an MSP in the inaugural elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding the positions of Finance Minister, and Education Minister. He was elected First Minister following the resignation of his predecessor Henry McLeish, and led the Scottish Labour Party to its second"
"The current party forming the Scottish Government is the Scottish National Party (SNP), which won 63 of 129 seats available in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. The SNP was formed in 1934 with the aim of achieving Scottish independence. They are broadly centre-left and are in the European social-democratic mould. They are the largest party in the Scottish Parliament and have formed the Scottish Government since the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. In the course of the twentieth century, Scottish Labour rose to prominence as Scotland's main political force. The party was established to represent the interests of workers and trade"
"Second Sturgeon government Nicola Sturgeon formed the second Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 5th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of First Minister on 17 May 2016. She was subsequently appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 18 May, and announced formation of a new Scottish National Party minority government. In the May 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 63 of the 129 seats contested. Incumbent First Minister Nicola Sturgeon soon afterwards announced her intention to form a minority"
"for his closeness to Rupert Murdoch. On 19 September 2014, following the results of the independence referendum which confirmed a majority of the Scottish people had voted against independence, Salmond announced that he would be resigning as First Minister in November 2014. On 15 October, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was the only candidate to stand for the leadership, and formally succeeded Salmond as SNP leader following the party's national conference in Perth on 14 November. Salmond submitted his resignation as First Minister to the Scottish Parliament and to the Queen on 18 November, and the formal selection of Sturgeon"
"Ministers have been appointed members of the Privy Council, and therefore entitled to use the style 'Right Honourable'. The First Minister is one of the few individuals in Scotland officially permitted to fly the Royal Banner of Scotland. First Minister of Scotland The First Minister of Scotland (; ) is the leader of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy. Additional functions of the First Minister include promoting and representing Scotland, in an official capacity, at home and abroad and responsibility for constitutional"
"golf, horse racing, football, and reading. He succeeded Robin Cook as a racing tipster for Glasgow's ""Herald"" newspaper. He supports the Scotland national football team and Heart of Midlothian FC, and sometimes attends matches. He takes an interest in Scottish cultural life, as well as watching ""Star Trek"" and listening to country and western music. He has also been a Visiting Professor of Economics at Strathclyde University. Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician who served as the First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. He was the leader of the"
"and External Affairs. In the UK General Election 2017, the Scottish Conservatives gained 12 seats from the SNP- including Alex Salmond (former First Minister and Leader of the SNP) and Angus Robertson (Deputy Leader of the SNP). 9 May - Annabel Goldie announces her resignation as Scottish Conservative leader. 5 Aug - John Lamont, after much speculation, announces that he will not stand in the leadership contest. 10 Aug - Jackson Carlaw declares he will stand in the contest. 26 Aug - Murdo Fraser declares he will stand in the contest. 29 Aug - Struan Stevenson MEP, Alex Johnstone MSP,"
"Scottish Parliament general election, 2011, a Scottish National Party (SNP) supporter said that the decision had been mentioned by very few voters during the election campaign. Subsequently, MacAskill won election to a redrawn constituency of Edinburgh Eastern in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. Despite notionally facing a deficit of 550 votes, MacAskill won by over 2000 votes., while his party, in a surprise landslide, increased from 47 seats to win 69 out of a possible 129 seats to become Scotland's first majority government, and the only majority government in the United Kingdom at that time. Party leader Alex Salmond who"
"becoming an independent country. The No side, supported by the three major UK parties, secured a 55% to 45% majority for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Following the result on 18 September 2014, Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, announced his intention to step down as First Minister and leader of the SNP. He was replaced by his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon. After years of austerity, the British economy was on an upswing in 2015. In line with the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, the 2015 general election was called for 7 May 2015. The Conservatives claimed credit for the"
"(50), SNP (25), Conservative (17), LibDem (17), and the Greens (7). There was also one 'mixed' administrative grouping of 5 independent MSPs and 1 Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party MSP. Of the major party leaders in the Scottish Parliament, only one, Jack McConnell, of the Scottish Labour Party fought the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election as leader. Nicol Stephen succeeded Jim Wallace as Deputy First Minister and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in June 2005, after the latter announced that he would not be contesting the 2007 election. Alex Salmond was elected leader of the Scottish National Party in 2004,"
"number of seats in the Scottish Parliament in the 2007 election and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister. He appointed Sturgeon as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. She was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities in 2012. Following the defeat of the ""Yes"" campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Salmond announced that he would be resigning as party leader at the SNP party conference that November, and would resign as First Minister after a new leader was chosen. No one else was nominated for the post by the time nominations closed,"
"First Minister of Scotland The First Minister of Scotland (; ) is the leader of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy. Additional functions of the First Minister include promoting and representing Scotland, in an official capacity, at home and abroad and responsibility for constitutional affairs, as they relate to devolution and the Scottish Government. The First Minister is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and nominated by the Scottish Parliament before being officially appointed by the monarch. Members of the Cabinet"
"of which 24 were elected. The Scottish National Party won the third-largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election, winning 56 MPs from the 59 constituencies in Scotland having won 50% of the popular vote. This was an increase of 50 MPs on the result achieved in 2010. The SNP has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1967. Following the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections, the SNP emerged as the largest party with 47 MSPs and formed a minority government with Alex Salmond as First Minister. After the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election, the SNP won enough"