Humza Yousaf

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For the American scholar, see Hamza Yusuf.

Humza Yousaf
MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf, 2021.jpg
Official portrait, 2021
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Assumed office
20 May 2021
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byJeane Freeman
Cabinet Secretary for Justice
In office
26 June 2018 – 20 May 2021
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byMichael Matheson
Succeeded byKeith Brown
Junior ministerial offices
Minister for Transport and the Islands
In office
18 May 2016 – 26 June 2018
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byDerek Mackay
Succeeded byPaul Wheelhouse
Minister for Europe and International Development[a]
In office
6 September 2012 – 18 May 2016
First Minister
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAlasdair Allan
Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the First Minister of Scotland
In office
25 May 2011 – 4 September 2012
First MinisterAlex Salmond
Preceded byAileen Campbell
Succeeded byMark McDonald
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow Pollok
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Preceded byJohann Lamont
Majority6,482 (23.2%)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
5 May 2011 – 5 May 2016
Personal details
Born
Humza Haroon Yousaf

(1985-04-07) 7 April 1985 (age 36)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)
Gail Lythgoe
​
​
(m. 2010; div. 2017)​

Nadia El-Nakla
​
(m. 2019)​
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow

Humza Haroon Yousaf (born 7 April 1985) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2021. He is the first non-white and first Muslim member of the Scottish Cabinet. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, having previously represented Glasgow region from 2011 to 2016.

Born and raised in Glasgow, Yousaf attended the University of Glasgow, earning a MA in politics. Before becoming an elected official, he worked as parliamentary assistant for many prominent MSPs including then First Minister Alex Salmond and then Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. In 2011, he became the youngest MSP elected to the Scottish Parliament, at age 26. Yousaf served in numerous junior ministerial roles including: Minister for External Affairs and International Development from 2012 to 2014, Minister for Europe and International Development from 2014 to 2016, and Minister for Transport and the Islands from 2016 to 2018.[1][2]

In Nicola Sturgeon's 2018 cabinet reshuffle, Yousaf was appointed to the Scottish Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Justice. As Justice Secretary, he introduced the Hate Crime Bill, which caused controversy from opposition parties. In 2021, he succeeded Jeane Freeman as Health Secretary and since has been leading the Scottish Government's COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Early life and education[]

Humza Haroon Yousaf was born on 7 April 1985 in Glasgow. His father, Muzaffar, was born in Mian Channu, Pakistan, and emigrated to Glasgow with his family in the 1960s, eventually working as an accountant. His mother, Shaaista Bhutta, was born in Kenya to a family of South Asian descent that later emigrated to Scotland.

Yousaf was privately educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, an independent school in Glasgow,[3] where his Modern Studies lessons inspired him to become involved in politics. He studied Politics at the University of Glasgow, graduating with an MA in 2007.[4] Whilst at university, Yousaf was President of the Glasgow University Muslim Students Association as well as a prominent figure involved in student politics in the Students' representative council.

From an early age, Yousaf was involved in community work, ranging from youth organisations to charity fundraising.[5] He was the volunteer media spokesperson for the charity Islamic Relief,[5] worked for community radio for twelve years and on a project which provided food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.

Yousaf worked as a Parliamentary assistant for Bashir Ahmad, from Ahmad's election as Scotland's first Muslim MSP in 2007 until Ahmad's death two years later.[6] Ahmad was a personal influence. Yousaf then worked as Parliamentary assistant for a few other MSPs including Anne McLaughlin, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond who was then First Minister.[7][8] In 2008, whilst working as an aide, Yousaf took part in the International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange run by the US State Department.[9] He was awarded the “Future Force of Politics” at the Young Scottish Minority Ethnic Awards in 2009, which was presented to him in Glasgow City Chambers.[10]

Political career[]

Member of the Scottish Parliament[]

Official parliamentary portrait, 2011

In May 2011, Yousaf was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow region.[11] At just 26 years of age, he was the youngest MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament.[12] When being sworn in, he took his oath in English then Urdu reflecting his Scottish-Pakistani identity;[13] he was dressed in a traditional sherwani decorated with a Partick Thistle tartan touch and a plaid draped over his shoulder.[14] Yousaf was appointed to the Justice and Public Audit Committees. On 25 May 2011 he was appointed as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister, remaining in this post until 4 September 2012.[15]

Junior minister[]

On 5 September 2012, Yousaf became the Minister for External Affairs and International Development after Alex Salmond had undertaken his first major cabinet reshuffle of the parliamentary session.[16] This junior ministerial appointment saw him working under the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. He is the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to be appointed as a Minister to the Scottish Government.[1][2]

When Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in November 2014, she kept Yousaf as a junior minister, although the name of the position he held was changed to the Minister for Europe and International Development.[17] On 18 May 2016, he was moved to the position of Minister for Transport and the Islands in a reshuffle.[18]

Cabinet Secretary for Justice[]

Yousaf at Scottish Government press conference on Coronavirus in 2020.

On 26 June 2018, Yousaf was moved to the position of Justice Secretary in the Cabinet.[19] One of his flagship policies was the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill which he promised would streamline existing legislation as well as add additional protections to persecuted minorities while maintaining rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.[20] The bill has been criticised by the Catholic Church, the National Secular Society as well as writers,[21] and in September 2020 it was amended to remove prosecution for cases of unintendedly stirring up hate, which could theoretically include libraries stocking contentious books.[22] In October 2020, Yousaf said that the exception to the Public Order Act 1986 which allows people to use otherwise illegal language in their own homes should be abolished.[23]

In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd in the USA, Yousaf gave a speech to the Scottish Parliament as part of a debate to show solidarity with anti-racism.[24] In the speech, Yousaf listed 15 positions of authority in Scotland held by white people, in order to illustrate that there were few non-white people in positions of power. Video clips of the speech were widely circulated online by conservative commentators, who argued that this was to be expected in a country where (according to the 2011 census) 96% of the population was white, and mocked Yousaf's style of delivery, in particular his emphasis of the word "white". As a result, Yousaf was the target of over 6,000 posts on social media.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care[]

Yousaf was appointed to the cabinet position responsible for health and leading Scotland's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021 following a cabinet reshuffle.[25] In June he said that ten children up to the age of nine had been admitted to Scottish hospitals in the previous week "because of Covid".[26] Professor Steve Turner, Scotland officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, contradicted him and said that children’s wards were “not seeing a rise in cases with Covid”. He added that the children in question had been hospitalised for other reasons. Yousaf clarified his statement and apologised for "any undue alarm".[27]

In July, the World Health Organisation concluded that six out of Europe's ten virus hotspots were in Scotland.[28] Tayside topped the list with 1,002 cases per 100,000 head of population over the previous fortnight.[29] The Scottish Government was accused of being ‘missing in action’ after it emerged that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Yousaf were all on holiday.[30] Yousaf said he had promised to take his stepdaughter to Harry Potter World, tweeting that: "Most important job I have is being a good father, step-father & husband to my wife and kids. In the last seven months they’ve had virtually no time from me."[31]

In September 2021 the average waiting time for an ambulance in Scotland soared to six hours and Yousaf urged the public to "think twice" before they called 999.[32] Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane criticised the remark as “reckless messaging [that] could put lives at risk” and instead urged people to call an ambulance if they thought they needed one.[33][34] Following reports of elderly Scots dying whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive,[35] Yousaf asked the Ministry of Defence for help and soldiers from the British Army were deployed to drive ambulances.[36]

Personal life[]

In 2019, Yousaf married SNP worker Nadia El-Nakla and has one child with her.[37][38] He was married to former SNP Executive Committee member Gail Lythgoe between 2010 and 2017.[39][40][41]

Yousaf is a columnist for the Glasgow Times.[42]

In November 2016, Yousaf was fined £300 and had six penalty points added to his driving licence, after being caught by police for driving a friend's car without being insured to drive it. Yousaf accepted full responsibility saying: "I totally accept the decision. I paid the fine and told my insurers about the points. This was an honest mistake, and the result of my personal circumstances during my separation."[43]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ External Affairs and International Development (2012–14)

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Democracy live: Ministerial appointments debate". BBC News. BBC. 5 September 2012.
  2. ^ "FPs Humza Yousaf and John Mason elected as MSPs". Hutchesons' Grammar School. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Alumni: Our alumni: Life after Glasgow: Notable alumni". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b Allan, Vicky (13 January 2013). "Exclusive: SNP aims to make independent Scotland a world leader in aid". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  5. ^ Robertson, Alan (18 December 2012). "Home and away: Minister for External Affairs and International Development Humza Yousaf". Hoyrood magazine. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  6. ^ "MSPs: Current MSPs: Humza Yousaf: Personal Information". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  7. ^ Paterson, Stewart (16 November 2012). "Nicola Sturgeon named Scotland's top politician ... again". Evening Times. Newsquest. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Current MSPS: HumzaYousef: Register of Interests". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Young Scottish Minority Ethnic Award Winners 2009". redhotcurry.com. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Vote 2011: Scotland elections: Regions: Glasgow results". BBC News. BBC. 8 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Stars who have risen and fallen". The Herald. Newsquest. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  12. ^ "MSPs to take oaths in six languages". STV News. STV Group. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  13. ^ Paterson, Stewart (12 May 2011). "Glasgow's magnificent seven sworn in as MSPs". Evening Times. Newsquest. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Scottish Parliament Fact sheet: Ministers, Law Officers and Parliamentary Liaison Officers by Cabinet: Session 4" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  15. ^ "Who is in the Scottish cabinet?". BBC News. BBC. 5 September 2012.
  16. ^ "Nicola Sturgeon announces new Scottish cabinet". BBC News. BBC. 21 November 2014.
  17. ^ "New Islands minister appointed". The Orcadian. 19 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Scottish Government Cabinet Reshuffle: Who's in and Who's out?". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 26 June 2018.
  19. ^ Yousaf, Humza. "Humza Yousaf: Hate Crime Bill strikes right balance between respecting freedom of expression and tackling hate speech". Press and Journal. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Free speech row over new hate crime bill in Scotland". BBC News. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  21. ^ "Controversial hate crime legislation to be changed". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  22. ^ McLaughlin, Mark (28 October 2020). "Hate crime bill: Hate talk in homes 'must be prosecuted'". The Times. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Showing Solidarity with Anti-racism". Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 10 June 2020. The Scottish Parliament. 10 June 2020.
  24. ^ Hutcheon, Paul (19 May 2021). "Humza Yousaf appointed Health Secretary as Nicola Sturgeon reshuffles Cabinet". Daily Record.
  25. ^ McCann, David. "Humza Yousaf angers doctors with child Covid claims". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Covid in Scotland: Health Secretary Humza Yousaf 'regrets' child Covid alarm". BBC News. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  27. ^ Maishman, Elsa (4 July 2021). "Covid Scotland: 'Shock and concern' as half of Europe's top ten Covid hotspots in Scotland". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  28. ^ Boothman, John. "SNP 'in disarray' as WHO says Scotland has six in ten European Covid hotspots". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  29. ^ Johnson, Simon (7 July 2021). "SNP accused of being 'missing in action' amid Covid surge in Scotland". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  30. ^ Pooran, Neil (7 July 2021). "Health Secretary Humza Yousaf defends taking holiday as Covid cases rocket". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  31. ^ Davidson, Peter (15 September 2021). "Scots urged to 'think twice' about calling ambulance due to pressures on NHS". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  32. ^ Davidson, Peter (15 September 2021). "Scots urged to 'think twice' about calling ambulance due to pressures on NHS". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  33. ^ "Yousaf's advice to think twice before dialling 999 raises fundamental questions about NHS funding – Scotsman comment". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  34. ^ Merson, Adele. "'Unacceptable': Humza Yousaf apologises to families impacted by ambulance crisis". Press and Journal. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  35. ^ Correspondent, Kieran Andrews, Scottish Political Editor | Helen Puttick, Scottish Health. "Humza Yousaf sends for taxis to join army tackling ambulance delays". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 18 October 2021. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  36. ^ Malik, Paul. "Dundee case worker married to justice secretary shares heartbreak after three miscarriages".
  37. ^ Clegg, David (17 May 2019). "SNP infighting more like Game of Thrones plot than conduct of political party". dailyrecord.
  38. ^ "SNP activist caught up in 'fake leaflet' row". www.scotsman.com.
  39. ^ Smith, Emma (30 July 2011). "Muslim MSP Humza Yousaf's fury at 'random' airport check". dailyrecord.
  40. ^ "Journey of discovery: interview with Humza Yousaf". Holyrood Website. 4 October 2019.
  41. ^ "Profile: Humza Yousaf". www.glasgowtimes.co.uk.
  42. ^ "SNP Transport Minister Humza Yousaf blames marriage split for driving without insurance". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 1 March 2020.

External links[]

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