Head of government of Scotland
 
The first minister of Scotland, formally known as the First Minister and Keeper of the Scottish Seal, is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the executive branch of the devolved government and is the keeper of the Great Seal, one of the great officers of state in Scotland. 
The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development, and presentation of the Scottish Government's policies. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad, as part of the Scottish Government's approach to international relations. The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament by members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and is formally appointed by the monarch. 
Members of the Scottish Cabinet and junior ministers of the Scottish Government are appointed by the first minister. The first minister is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the wider government and cabinet. Additionally, the first minister is responsible for appointing the country's law officers – the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland, as well as nominating and appointing the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Lord Justice Clerk and Senator's of the College of Justice, judges who sit within the Supreme Courts of Scotland. 
The first minister is supported by their deputy first minister, as well as cabinet secretaries, junior ministers, government directorates and civil servants. The first minister is advised on matters by their chief of staff. The office is currently held by John Swinney, the MSP for Perthshire North and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Swinney was elected first minister by the Scottish Parliament on 7 May 2024, and was sworn in the following day at the Court of Session.
History.
Following the referendum in 1997, in which the Scottish electorate gave their consent, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive (later the Scottish Government) were established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Labour government of the prime minister, Tony Blair.
Under the Acts of Union 1707, the former Parliament of Scotland merged with the English parliament, forming the Parliament of Great Britain. The re-establishment of a dedicated legislature and executive for Scotland was known as devolution and initiated a measure of home rule (self-governance) in its domestic affairs, such as health, education and justice. The devolution movement came to a head in the 1970s, and resulted in a Royal Commission on the Constitution, leading to the Scotland Act 1978. This would have established an autonomous Scottish Executive with a leader termed 'First Secretary', a post for which Strathclyde political leader Geoff Shaw was widely expected to be chosen. Shaw died prematurely and the failure of the referendum of 1979 led to the Act not being implemented.
Following the 1997 referendum and Scotland Act 1998, Scottish devolution led to the establishment of a post of first minister as head of the devolved Scottish Government.
Since 1999, the Secretary of State for Scotland of the British Government has had a much reduced role at the renamed Scotland Office as a result of the transfer of responsibilities to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government.
Election and term.
Nomination as First Minister.
The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament at the beginning of each term, by means of an exhaustive ballot among its members, and is then formally appointed by the monarch.
Although any member of the Scottish Parliament can be nominated for first minister, the government must maintain the confidence of the Scottish Parliament in order to gain supply (access to exchequer funds) and remain in office. For this reason, every permanent first minister has been the leader of the largest party, or the leader of the senior partner in any majority coalition. There is no term of office for a first minister; they hold office "at His Majesty's pleasure". In practice, a first minister cannot remain in office against the will of the Scottish Parliament; indeed, the Scotland Act explicitly requires the first minister to either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution (and with it, new elections) if his or her government "no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament." Whenever the office of first minister falls vacant, the sovereign is responsible for appointing the new incumbent upon nomination by the Scottish Parliament; the appointment is formalised at a meeting between the sovereign and the first minister designate.
Given the additional member system used to elect its members, it is difficult for a single party to gain an overall majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP did gain an overall majority of seats in the 2011 election, and thus had enough numbers to vote in its leader, Alex Salmond, as first minister for a second term.
After the election of the Scottish Parliament, a first minister must be nominated within a period of 28 days. Under the terms of the Scotland Act, if the Parliament fails to nominate a first minister, within this time frame, it will be dissolved and a fresh election held. If an incumbent first minister is defeated in a general election, they do not immediately vacate office. The first minister only leaves office when the Scottish Parliament nominates a successor individual.
Oath of office.
After accepting office, the first minister takes the Official Oath, as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868. The oath is tendered by the Lord President of the Court of Session at a sitting of the Court in Parliament House in Edinburgh. The oath is:
 ;templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" / ;I, ["name"], do swear that I will well and truly serve His Majesty King Charles in the office of first minister of the Scottish Government, So help me God.
Term in office.
The period in office of a first minister is not linked to the term of members of the Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Act set out a four-year maximum term for each session of Parliament. The Act specifies that an election to the Scottish Parliament will be held on the first Thursday in May, every four years, starting from 1999. Parliament can be dissolved and an extraordinary general election held, before the expiration of the four-year term, but only if two-thirds (or more) of elected MSPs vote for such action in a resolution of the Scottish Parliament. If a simple majority of MSPs voted a no-confidence motion in the first minister or government, that would trigger a 28-day period for the nomination of a replacement; should that time period expire without the nomination of a new first minister, then an extraordinary election would have to be called.
The first minister, once appointed, continues in office as the head of the Scottish Government until they resign, are dismissed or die in office. Resignation can be triggered by the passage of a Motion of No Confidence in the first minister or the Scottish Government or by rejecting a motion of confidence in the Scottish Parliament. In those situations, the first minister must tender their resignation and the resignation of their government. In such circumstances, the presiding officer would appoint an interim first minister, until the Scottish Parliament determined on a new nominee to be appointed by the monarch.
During their tenure in office, the First Minister is supported by the Chief of Staff to the First Minister, who acts at the first minister's principal adviser on the first minister's strategic programme in government, inter-governmental relations, co-ordination of the team of special advisers to the first minister.
Legislative powers.
Scots Law and civil service.
As detailed in the Scotland Act 1998, the First Minister is responsible for recommending to the monarch a nominee for the position of Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland. The First Minister is also responsible for advocating whether a Lord Advocate or Solicitor General who is currently in post should be removed, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament. Additionally, the First Minister has various functions and responsibilities regarding the appointments and removal of Scottish judges within the Scottish court system.
The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government is nominated by the First Minister. The permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant in Scotland who serves to promote, implement, develop and communicating the Scottish Government's policy agenda. The First Minister is directly responsible for the management of the civil service in Scotland, as well as civil service staff within the Scottish Government.
The First Minister has responsibility in respect of the exercise of operation and functions during vacancies which may arise in the offices of Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice Clerk and the incapacity of the holders of those offices as outlined in the Senior Judiciary (Vacancies and Incapacity)(Scotland) Act 2006. Additionally, the First Minister considers any action relating to recommendations made by the Standards Commission or Chief Investigating Officer in regards of Crown Appointments under Section 23 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000.
The First Minister is an official consultee regarding selections for membership of the Supreme Court.
Security and intelligence.
The Office of the First Minister has responsibility for all functions relating to reports made by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and Intelligence Services Commissioner as detailed in both Sections 58 and 60 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. During times of national crisis, such as flooding, terror attacks or public health emergencies, the First Minister chairs the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR). The function of the resilience room committee is to co-ordinate policy and response to major events in Scotland that affect the population and, with the help of specialist teams within the division assist department, develop detailed risk assessments which are used to inform policy across Scotland.
Resilience response.
There are currently different levels of resilience response in Scotland which is overseen by the First Minister and Scottish Government ministers:
The first minister has chaired meetings of the Scottish Government Resilience Room on numerous occasions, such as in the aftermath of the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack and ahead of Storm Éowyn making landfall in Scotland in January 2025.
Resilience levels.
The First Minister is directly responsible for each of the corresponding resilience levels in Scotland, and has the responsibility of the Scottish Government Liaison Offices who can be deployed in emergencies and national crisis to act as the principal point of contact for the First Minister, Scottish Government and other Scottish ministers.
If a crisis or emergency is considered to affect the entirely of either the United Kingdom or the British Isles, such as the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack, the UK Government and Scottish Government (along with the governments of both Wales and Northern Ireland), will develop a co-ordinate response to a UK wide emergency or crisis. The First Minister is directly responsible for co-ordinating this policy and would be called to attend the UK Government's emergency room, COBRA, for instances such as a significant terrorist attack, a serious outbreak of animal disease or emergencies affecting large numbers of British citizens overseas.
Keeper of the Great Seal.
The First Minister is the Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland which is considered to be one of the highest privileges of the office. The First Minister has additional responsibility over how Wafer Scottish Seals are to be kept and how they are to be taken under section 38(4) &amp; 38(5)(b) of the Scotland Act. The First Minister has the power to sign royal warrants on behalf of the monarch.
As Keeper of the Great Seal, First Minister Humza Yousaf was the first First Minister to oversee the departure of the Stone of Scone, an ancient symbol of Scotland's nationhood, for Westminster Abbey for usage in the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May.
Privy Council.
The First Minister is a member of the Privy Council and is appointed by the Monarch. There are a variety of matters in which the Prime Minister would offer advice to the monarch on the exercise of their functions and on which it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to consult or to take advice from the First Minister. Such matters include the recommendations of Scottish candidates for honours and dignities, which are currently a reserved matter under the devolution settlement, and advice on the appointment of the Lords Lieutenants in Scotland, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of