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First Term Second Term First Minister of Scotland Contents
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Alex Salmond, who served as the fourth first minister of Scotland between 17 May 2007 until 18 November 2014 conducted various international and foreign visits to promote Scotland and its economy, to encourage inward investment and to meet with other international heads of governments. During his tenure, Salmond conducted a total of twenty international visits.
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Belgium | Brussels | July 11–12, 2007 | The First Minister held a reception for key European contacts and attended a Passchendaele memorial service with Her Majesty The Queen. |
| 2 |  USA | New York City | 10–13 October 2007 | The First Minister promoted Scotland as an attractive location for investment. |
| 3 |  Sri Lanka | Colombo | 5–12 November 2007 | The First Minister attended the decision on the bid by Glasgow for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |  Ireland | Dublin | 13–14 February 2008 | The First Minister attended the British-Irish Council. |
| 5 | USA | Washington D.C. New York City | 29 March – 6 April 2008 | The First Minister travelled to USA where he undertook a series of engagements as part of the Scotland Week delegation. |
| 6 |  Spain | Barcelona | 13–16 December 2008 | Salmond met with the mayor of Barcelona as well as toured the Barcelona Olympic Games Facilities. Salmond also had lunch with Catalan government officials, and later met with the president of Catalonia and vice-president of Catalonia. |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | USA | Washington D.C. | 23–24 February 2009 | During a two day visit to the United States, Salmond visited Washington D.C. and met with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. [2] |
| 8 |  Hong Kong | 5–6 April 2009 | Met with the British Consul General and attended the Scotland-Hong Kong Energy Event held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Hong Kong | |
| 9 |  China | 7–10 April 2009 | Attended the Scotland Reception held at Westin Hotel, Shanghai and met with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Met with Vice Foreign Minister Mr Li, Hui in Beijing | |
| 10 | Ireland | 16 April 2009 | Met Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach | |
| 11 |  Denmark | Copenhagen | 14 December 2009 – 15 December | Met President of Maldives and had dinner with officials in Copenhagen. Attended the Copenhagen Climate Conference and engaged in meetings with Government Ministers |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 |  Guernsey | 1 April 2010 | Met with the chief minister of Guernsey | |
| 13 |  Isle of Man | 25 June 2010 | Met with the chief minister of the Isle of Man and attending the British-Irish Council hosted by the Isle of Man where Salmond engaged with other leaders from across the British Isles | |
| 14 | China | Shanghai Beijing Tianjin | 4 July 2010–9 July | Salmond travelled to China and visited Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, leading three high-level trade missions. Salmond meet with officials from VisitScotland, Scottish Development International and the British Council. Salmond held meetings with Chinese Government officials, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [3] |
| 15 |  Norway | 16 August 2010–18 August | Met with the British ambassador to Norway and with the senior executives of Statnett to discuss North Sea Grid. Salmond also met with the Norwegian secretary of state for petroleum and energy, the Norwegian minister of finance to discuss Norwegian oil fund, and the Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre. | |
| 16 |  India | Dehli | 11 October 2010–14 October | Salmond visited India as part of the Scottish delegation and the formal handover of the Commonwealth Games to the city of Glasgow, the next host city of the games following the 2010 edition held in India. Additionally, Salmond met with Indian businesses to attract inward investment, and secured additional investment from the HERO Group who announced the expansion of their workforce in Scotland. [4] |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Ireland | Dublin | 13 January 2012 | Attended the British-Irish Council. During the summit, Salmond along with other heads of governments discussed policy areas concerning youth unemployment, drug misuse, demography, digital inclusion, early years policy, energy and the electric grid infrastructure. [5] |
| 18 | USA | Los Angeles | July 2012 | Various cultural engagements to promote Scottish culture and the arts, as well as attending the premiere of Brave . [6] Salmond appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as one of the shows guests and was asked questions by comedian and host, Craig Ferguson. [7] |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Isle of Man | Douglas | 16 July 2013–17 July | Salmond visited Douglas, the capital city of the Isle of Man and met with the Isle of Man Council of ministers and Eddie Teare, the Isle of Man Treasury Minister. During his visit, Salmond delivered a lecture to the chief minister’s International Lecture and met with the chief minister of the Isle of Man, Allan Bell, as well as touring the island to see education and cultural policy in action. [8] |
| # | Country | Areas visited | Dates | Details [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | USA | Washington D.C. New York City | 3 April 2014–8 April | Attended various Scotland Week celebrations in the United States. During his visit, Salmond gave a speech to the New York campus of the Glasgow Caledonian University. [9] |
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James Hamilton is an Irish barrister and administrator who served as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Republic of Ireland's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions from 1999 to 2011. In September 2010, Hamilton was elected President of the International Association of Prosecutors, succeeding Francois Falletti.
Events from the year 2014 in Scotland.
Alex Salmond formed the second Salmond government on 19 May 2011 following his Scottish National Party's landslide victory in the 2011 election to the 4th Scottish Parliament. This was the first single-party majority government in the history of the devolved parliament. Salmond's second government ended on 18 November 2014 upon his resignation as First Minister of Scotland.
The Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal was a political scandal in Scotland concerning the alleged conduct of former First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Alex Salmond while in office. From 2018, Salmond faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault and attempted rape, but in 2020 was ultimately acquitted on all charges: found not guilty on 12 charges, and not proven on one of sexual assault with intent to rape. A further sexual assault charge had previously been withdrawn by the Crown.
The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints was a Committee of the Scottish Parliament which was set up to investigate the Alex Salmond scandal, in which the Scottish Government breached its own guidelines in its original investigation into claims of sexual harassment claims by former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond, leading to the loss of a judicial review into their actions. The Committee met from 2020 to 2021 and published its final report on 23 March 2021. Prior to publication, it leaked that the Committee concluded that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon misled them in her evidence.
Nicola Sturgeon's term as first minister of Scotland began on 20 November 2014 when she was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed Alex Salmond's resignation following the defeat of the Yes campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. She is the first female and longest serving officeholder. Sturgeon's premiership was dominated by Brexit, which she used as an argument to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, however, opposition from the UK Government, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the ruling against her government holding an advisory referendum would be obstacles for Sturgeon securing her legacy of gaining Scottish independence. Sturgeon's term ended on 29 March 2023, following her resignation announcement on 15 February, in which she claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation.
Alex Salmond's term as first minister of Scotland began on 17 May 2007 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session. It followed his Scottish National Party's win at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, where his party defeated the incumbent Labour Party by just one seat. Salmond's term ended on 18 November 2014, following his resignation in the aftermath of the Yes campaign's defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
The Alex Salmond sexual harassment scandal refers to the political scandal in Scotland concerning the behaviour of former First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, and his successor, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The scandal created a feud within the Scottish National Party and a ministerial code investigation into Sturgeon conducted by James Hamilton, which ultimately concluded that she did not break the ministerial code over her conduct with Salmond.
Nicola Sturgeon served as deputy first minister of Scotland under First Minister Alex Salmond from 2007 until she succeeded Salmond in 2014. She was the first woman to hold office. Sturgeon, in parallel to serving as deputy first minister, served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing from 2007 to 2012 and Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Capital Investment and Cities from 2012 to 2014.
