List of First Ministers of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the leader of the Scottish Government, Scotland's devolved administration. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Scottish Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe and the wider world. The First Minister is a Member of the Scottish Parliament, and is nominated by the Scottish Parliament before being officially appointed by the Monarch.
Currently, the fifth First Minister of Scotland is Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish Nationalist Party, who succeeded Alex Salmond in November 2014 following his resignation after the defeat of the secession campaign in the Scottish independence referendum. Sturgeon leads the fourth government of the Scottish Parliament which was first elected in 2007 as a minority government, and re-elected in 2011, where they formed the first majority government in the Scottish Parliament.
The longest-serving First Minister is Alex Salmond, who surpassed Jack McConnell on 7 November 2012 and spent a total of 7 and a half years in the role. Donald Dewar was the first person to hold the position.† Died in office.Timeline
