John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition,and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and,following boundary changes,has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
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 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell,the Labour Party MSP,remained in office as First Minister for a second term and the Executive continued as a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition. As of 2023,it remains the last Scottish Parliament election victory for the Scottish Labour Party,and the last time the Scottish National Party lost a Holyrood election.
Brian James Adam was a Scottish politician and biochemist who served as Minister for Parliamentary Business and Chief Whip from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2013.
James Robert Wallace,Baron Wallace of Tankerness,is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 2021 to 2022. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005,and during that time he served twice as acting First Minister,in 2000,in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001,following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016.
Robert Edward Brown is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 1999 to 2011.
James Ross Finnie is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and a former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). He is a former Minister for the Environment and Rural Development in the Scottish Executive,and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland region. He became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999,and held the same ministerial portfolio until May 2007.
Alasdair Morrison is a Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Western Isles constituency from 1999 to 2007.
Rhona Brankin is a former Scottish Labour-Co-operative politician who served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Midlothian constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. She was one of six female Labour MSPs to stand down in 2011.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019,and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats,down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Allan Wilson is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cunninghame North constituency,a seat which he held from the inaugural Scottish Parliament general election in 1999 until his defeat at the 2007 election.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats is a liberal,federalist political party in Scotland,part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 4 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons.
Roderick Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region between 2011 and 2021. A member of Scottish Labour,he previously represented the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 to 2011. He was a deputy Scottish Executive minister from 2001 to 2007.
Iain Cumming Gray is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021,having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003. A former aid worker and teacher of mathematics and physics,Gray was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency,which he lost to Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party David McLetchie in 2003. Gray was returned to Holyrood in 2007 as MSP for East Lothian. Following Wendy Alexander's resignation as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2008,Gray stood at the subsequent leadership election,and was elected with a 57.8% share of the vote in the second round.
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday,5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.
Callum McCaig is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South from May 2015 until 2017. During his period in the Westminster parliament,he was the SNP's Energy and Climate Change spokesperson in the House of Commons. McCaig was elected as a councillor on Aberdeen City Council in 2007,and was the Leader of Aberdeen City Council from 2011 until 2012.
The 2004 Scottish National Party leadership election was held following the resignation of John Swinney as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Nominations opened on 22 June,with three candidates nominated,and voting began on 13 August. This was the first election where all party members could vote. The results were announced on 3 September;Alex Salmond defeated Roseanna Cunningham and Michael Russell,with more than 75% of votes.
Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Western constituency since 2016.
The 6th Scottish Parliament was elected at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. It was opened with the Escort to the Crown of Scotland Parade and Speech from the Throne on 2 October 2021.
