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The External Affairs Directorate is a directorate of the Scottish Government, responsible for all aspects of Scotland's external affairs and international relationships with other countries and governments. [1]
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. To the south-east, Scotland has its only land border, which is 96 miles (154 km) long and shared with England; the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. The population in 2022 was 5,439,842 and accounts for 8% of the population of the UK. Edinburgh is the capital and Glasgow is the largest of the cities of Scotland.
The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a country. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Scotland Act 1998. Most executive power is exercised by the Scottish Government, led by the First Minister of Scotland, the head of government in a multi-party system. The judiciary of Scotland, dealing with Scots law, is independent of the legislature and the Scottish Government. Scots law is primarily determined by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government shares some executive powers with the Scotland Office, a British government department led by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
The Scottish Government is the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. Its areas for responsibility of decision making and domestic policy in the country include the economy, education, healthcare, justice and the legal system, rural affairs, housing, the crown estate, the environment, the fire service, equal opportunities, the transportation network, and tax, amongst others.
Fiona Jane Hyslop is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport since 2024. Hyslop has served in various offices under first ministers Salmond, Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney; as education secretary, culture secretary, and economy secretary as well as in junior ministerial roles. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Linlithgow constituency since 2011, having represented the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011.
Tartan Day is celebration of Scottish heritage and the cultural contributions of Scottish and Scottish-diaspora figures of history. The name refers to tartan, a patterned woollen cloth associated with Scotland. The event originated in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1987. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora and Scotland itself in the 1990s to 2000s.
The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, commonly referred to as the Finance Secretary, is a member of the Cabinet in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary has Ministerial responsibility for the Scottish Government's Finance Directorates.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, commonly referred to as the Health Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, commonly referred to as the Constitution Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The incumbent Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture is Angus Robertson, who assumed office in May 2021.
The work of the Scottish Government is carried out by Directorates, each headed by a Director. The Directorates are grouped into a number of Directorates-General families, each headed by a Director-General. However, the individual Directorates are the building blocks of the system. The Directorates are further broken down into 'Divisions' and then by Units and finally by Teams. Divisions usually consist of 25-50 people. There is no direct correspondence between the political responsibilities of the Ministers in the Scottish Government and the Directorates, although in some cases there is considerable overlap. The Directorates are also responsible for a number of government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Some government work is also carried out by Executive Agencies such as Transport Scotland, who sit outside the Directorates structure, but are also staffed by civil servants.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the fourteen ministries of the Government of Moldova.
Scottish Parliament committees are small groups of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government, conduct inquiries into subjects within their remit and examine legislation. Much of the everyday work of the Scottish Parliament is done by these committees.
Clare Anne AdamsonFBCS is a Scottish politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Motherwell and Wishaw since 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was previously an additional MSP for the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016.
The Scottish Government Economy Directorates are a group of Directorates of the Scottish Government. They were rebranded as the Economy Directorates in July 2016, having previously been reorganised in December 2010 and then in June 2014. In July 2021, a further re-organisation led to the creation of the Net Zero Directorates, with Agriculture & Rural Economy, Marine Scotland, Energy & Climate Change, Environment & Forestry, Transport Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry moving to the new Directorate General.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, commonly referred to as the Constitution Secretary, was a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. In May 2021 the role also gained responsibility for culture, becoming the new position of Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.
This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
The Strategy and External Affairs Directorates are a group of directorates of the Scottish Government, responsible for co-ordinating policy in Scotland relating to constitutional matters, elections and freedom of information, as well as managing Scottish Cabinet businesses and the legislative programme for Government.
The Culture, Tourism and Major Events Directorate is a directorate of the Scottish Government that has a responsibility for representing Scotland in other countries as a place of tourism, investment and cultural exchange.
The International Trade and Investment Directorate is a directorate of the Scottish Government. The main areas of responsibility of the directorate are the internationalisation of the economy of Scotland and maximising the value of the food and drink industry sector of the Scottish economy.
Jennifer Margot Minto is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Argyll and Bute since 2021. She has been serving as Minister for Public Health and Women's Health since March 2023.
Building a New Scotland is a series of papers published by the Scottish Government that seeks to lay out a prospectus for Scottish independence. The Scottish Government had proposed holding an independence referendum on 19 October 2023.
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