 |
Minister for Gaelic was a Junior minister post in the Scottish Government. Gaelic now lies in the responsibility of the Scottish Government, having been in control of the Scottish Office prior to 1999.
Ministers of Gaelic also have had another portfolio, whilst being Minister of Gaelic.
The post was discontinued under the second Sturgeon government, having come under the remit of the Education Secretary. This has been a cause of controversy amongst Gaelic speaking groups and communities.
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154 km) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and the Irish Sea to the south. The country also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt – the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands – in the Scottish Lowlands.
Scottish Gaelic, also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx, developed out of Old Irish. It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by Gaels in both Ireland and Scotland down to the 16th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names.
Éire is Irish for "Ireland", the name of an island and a sovereign state occupying most of the island, officially named Ireland in English, and often referred to as the "Republic of Ireland" and is distinct from Northern Ireland which comprises 6 of the 9 counties of the Ulster province to the north of the island. The same name is also sometimes used in English.
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood. The Parliament is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the additional member system: 73 MSPs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-list MSPs. Each region elects 15 to 17 MSPs in total. The most recent general election to the Parliament was held on 6 May 2021, with the Scottish National Party winning a plurality.
Historic Scotland was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved and its functions were transferred to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 1 October 2015. HES also took over the functions of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
The first minister of Scotland is the leader of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. 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.
The secretary of state for Scotland, also referred to as the Scotland secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, 18th in the ministerial ranking.
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas", which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1997 of being known as a "comhairle" when opting for a Gaelic name; only Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has chosen this option, whereas the Highland Council has adopted its Gaelic form alongside its English equivalent informally.
The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, often referred to as, and formerly called the Scotland Office, is a UK government department headed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and responsible for Scottish affairs that lie within the UK Government's responsibility.
Caithness is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Her Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the Crown and Government of the United Kingdom on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom government. The position is currently held by Keith Stewart, Baron Stewart of Dirleton.
The Deputy First Minister of Scotland is the second highest ranking minister of the Government of Scotland, behind the First Minister of Scotland. The post-holder deputises for the First Minister of Scotland in period of absence or overseas visits, and will be expected to answer to the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the First Minister at First Minister's Questions.
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local government council for Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland. It is based in Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis.
In the Gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland, the use of the Gaelic language on road signs instead of, or more often alongside, English is now common, but has been a controversial issue.
The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament passed in 2005. It was the first piece of legislation dedicated to the Scottish Gaelic language and was seen as the first hesitant step by the Scottish Executive to provide a legislative framework for the use of Gaelic by Scottish Public sector authorities. It created a Gaelic Language Board, but created no general rights of citizens or obligations on statutory authorities to actually use the language. This is in contrast to the UK parliament's legislation for the Welsh Language which authorises the use of Welsh in public administration. There has been no significant development of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 between 2005 and 2021.
Scottish Canadians are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian culture since colonial times. According to the 2016 Census of Canada, the number of Canadians claiming full or partial Scottish descent is 4,799,010, or 13.93% of the nation's total population. However, some demographers have estimated that the number of Scottish Canadians could be up to 25% of the Canadian population. Prince Edward Island has the highest population of Scottish descendants at 41%.
The Gaels are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in northwestern Europe. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic.
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom of Scotland of the late middle ages following the absorption of Strathclyde and English-speaking Lothian in the 12th century. It is cognate with the Irish term Alba and the Manx term Nalbin, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as contemporary words used in Cornish and Welsh, both of which are Brythonic Insular Celtic languages. The third surviving Brythonic language, Breton, instead uses Bro-Skos, meaning 'country of the Scots'. In the past these terms were names for Great Britain as a whole, related to the Brythonic name Albion.
Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy since 2021, having previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2020 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency since 2016.