Deputy First Minister of Scotland

Deputy First Minister of Scotland Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba
Incumbent John Swinney MSP since 21 November 2014
Style	Deputy First Minister
Abbreviation	DFM
Member of	Scottish Parliament Scottish Cabinet
Reports to	Scottish Parliament
Seat	Edinburgh
Appointer	First Minister of Scotland
Term length	Scottish Parliament elections are held every five years. The Deputy First Minister is appointed by the First Minister. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Inaugural holder	Jim Wallace
Formation	19 May 1999
Salary	£112,919 annually (including £64,470 MSP salary)
Website	www.gov.scot

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The Deputy First Minister of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba; Scots: Heid Meinister Depute o 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.

John Swinney of the Scottish National Party (SNP) is the current Deputy First Minister of Scotland, he was appointed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the 21 November 2014.

Functioning responsibilities[]

The post is not recognised in statute (in comparison with the post of First Minister which is established by the Scotland Act 1998), and its holder is simply an ordinary member of the Scottish Government. The post has nonetheless existed since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in 1999. When one party governs alone, the Deputy First Minister is a senior member of the governing party, typically the party's deputy leader (though at present this is not the case, as Keith Brown (Scottish politician) is the Scottish National Party Deputy Leader). When the government is formed by a coalition, the Deputy First Minister is usually the leader of the minority partner.

The Deputy First Minister, within the Scottish Government, has direct responsibility and control over the strategy of the Scottish Government, delivery and outcomes of ministerial portfolios, resilience, as well as cross-government co-ordination of public service reform.^[1] Alongside the responsibilities of the post-holders functions as Deputy First Minister, the post holder is also required to have direct responsibility for a cabinet secretary post. The current Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, is also Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery.

Nomination and election[]

The Additional Member System used to elect Members of the Scottish Parliament makes it difficult for a single party to have an absolute majority. Between 1999 and 2007, the Scottish Executive was formed by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, with the leader of Scottish Labour serving as First Minister and the leader of the Scottish Lib Dems serving as Deputy First Minister.

Although the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a single party minority administration following the 2007 election, the post was not abolished despite there being no need to recognise the status of a second party leader, instead being given to the SNP's depute leader, Nicola Sturgeon.^[2] When Sturgeon became First Minister, the party's depute leader, Stewart Hosie, was serving in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and did not have a seat in the Scottish Parliament. The Deputy First Minister's post thus went to John Swinney.

List of Acting First Ministers[]

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Other offices held whilst in post
	Jim Wallace		8 November 2001	27 November 2001	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Justice (1999–2003)

List of Deputy First Ministers[]

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Other offices held whilst in post	First Minister
	Jim Wallace		19 May 1999	23 June 2005	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Justice (1999–2003) Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (2003–2005)		Donald Dewar
								Henry McLeish
								Jack McConnell
	Nicol Stephen		27 June 2005	17 May 2007	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
	Nicola Sturgeon		17 May 2007	19 November 2014	Scottish National Party	Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (2007–2012) Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment (2012–2014)		Alex Salmond
	John Swinney		21 November 2014	Incumbent	Scottish National Party	Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (2014–2016) Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (2016–2021) Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (2021-present)		Nicola Sturgeon

See also[]

• Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

References[]