Leader of the Scottish National Party

The Leader of the Scottish National Party is the head of the SNP. The incumbent is Nicola Sturgeon who was elected in November 2014, succeeding Alex Salmond as party leader and First Minister of Scotland.[1]

Leader of the Scottish National Party
Incumbent Nicola Sturgeon since 14 November 2014
Inaugural holder	Alexander MacEwen
Formation	7 April 1934

Alex Salmond resigned as the leader of the Scottish National Party on 19 September 2014, following the defeat of the Yes Scotland campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[2] On 14 November 2014, he was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon, who won the 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election. On the same day, John Swinney was appointed as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland by Sturgeon.

History

The post of Leader of the Scottish National Party was officially created on 7 April 1934; the first leader was Alexander MacEwen.[3]The Scottish National Party first came into power in 2007; they were led by Alex Salmond, where the Labour Party lost their 50 year rule of Scotland by one seat.[4]

Roles

Currently, the leader Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister and Leader of the Scottish National Party, is responsible for the overall growth. They usually advocate for Scottish independence and Pro Europeanism.[5]

Keith Brown is the Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party; however, he is not the Deputy First Minister of Scotland.[6][7]

Ian Blackford is the Leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, along with Kirsty Blackman, who is Deputy Leader.[8][9]

Independence vote

In 2007 Alex Salmond announced on the manifesto that "The SNP believe Scotland and England should be equal nations – friends, and partners - both free to make our own choices"[10] In 2014, the SNP-led Scottish Government ran a vote to get the nation out of the United Kingdom; it was unsuccessful. Later that day, Salmond resigned.[11]He previously said "This is a once in a generation opportunity for Scotland" He pledged that; there would be no more independence referendums.[12]

Nicola Sturgeon later said, "she could think of no greater privilege than to lead the party"[13]: she was later unopposed in the leadership election.[14]

No	1,809,958
Yes	1,617,989

Living former party leaders

John Swinney	26 September 2000 – 3 September 2004

Alex Salmond	16 May 2007 – 14 November 2014

Overall leaders of the Party

Leaders of the Scottish National Party
Leader (birth-death)	Portrait	Political Office	Took Office	Left Office
Sir Alexander MacEwen (1875-1941)		Provost of Inverness (1925-1931) Councillor for Benbecula (1931-1941)[15]	7 April 1934	1936
Andrew Dewar Gibb (1888-1974)		Candidate for Combined Scottish Universities (1936, 1938)	1936	1940
William Power (1873-1951)		Candidate for Argyllshire (1940)	1940	30 May 1942
Douglas Young (1913-1973)		Candidate for Kirkcaldy Burghs (1944)	30 May 1942	9 June 1945
Prof Bruce Watson (1910-1988)			9 June 1945	May 1947
Dr Robert McIntyre (1913-1998)		MP for Motherwell (1945) Provost of Stirling (1967-1975) Councillor for Stirling (1956-1975)	May 1947	June 1956
James Halliday (1927-2013)		Candidate for Stirling and Falkirk (1959)	June 1956	5 June 1960
Arthur Donaldson (1901-1993)		Councillor for Angus (1946-1955) Councillor for Forfar (1945-1968)	5 June 1960	1 June 1969
William Wolfe (1924-2010)		Candidate for West Lothian (1970-79)	1 June 1969	15 September 1979
Gordon Wilson (1938-2017)		MP for Dundee East (1974-1987)	15 September 1979	22 September 1990
The Right Hon. Alex Salmond (b. 1954) (1st Term)		MP for Banff and Buchan (1987-2010) MSP for Banff and Buchan (1999-2001)	22 September 1990	26 September 2000
John Swinney (b. 1964)		Deputy First Minister (since 2014) MSP for Perthshire North (since 2011) MSP for North Tayside (1999-2011) MP for North Tayside (1997-2001)	26 September 2000	3 September 2004
The Right Hon. Alex Salmond (b. 1954) (2nd Term)		First Minister (2007-2014) MSP for Aberdeenshire East (2011-2016) MSP for Gordon (2007-2011) MP for Gordon (2015-2017)	3 September 2004	14 November 2014
The Right Hon. Nicola Sturgeon (b. 1970)		First Minister (since 2014) MSP for Glasgow Southside (since 2011) MSP for Glasgow Govan (2007-2011) MSP for Glasgow (1999-2007)	14 November 2014	Incumbent

References

1. "Nicola Sturgeon elected SNP leader". BBC News. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
2. Carrell, Severin; Wintour, Patrick; Mason, Rowena (2014-09-19). "Alex Salmond resigns as first minister after Scotland rejects independence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
3. "Scotland Back in the Day: The origins of the SNP – from Burns to MacEwen". The National. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
4. Wintour, Patrick; editor, political (2007-05-04). "SNP wins historic victory". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-09.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. "SNP calls for opposition parties to back two-year Brexit transition extension due to coronavirus crisis". The Independent. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
6. "Keith Brown". www.parliament.scot. 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
7. "Keith Brown elected SNP deputy leader". BBC News. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
8. "New appointments this week in UK politics, the civil service and public affairs". Politics Home. 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
9. "Scottish National Party press release". Scottish National Party.
10. Tempest, Matthew; correspondent, political (2007-04-12). "SNP manifesto: key points". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
11. Leith, Murray. "Alex Salmond resigns following defeat in Scottish independence referendum". The Conversation. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
12. Lockhart, Keely; PA; Sep 2014, video source BBC One 1:07PM BST 14 (2014-09-14). "Alex Salmond: 'This is a once in a generation opportunity for Scotland'". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
13. "Politicians react to Salmond exit". BBC News. 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
14. Castle, Stephen (2014-11-14). "Nicola Sturgeon Becomes Leader of Scottish National Party". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
15. "Scottish Highland Photo Archive - Image Detail". www.scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-06.