The role was first titled
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, with the initial holder being
Keith Brown, who was appointed in May 2016. At its inception, the Cabinet Secretary had responsibilities for the
Scottish economy, infrastructure, trade and investment, business,
industry, employment, trade unions and energy. The Cabinet Secretary was assisted by the
Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy and the
Minister for Employability and Training. The post was abolished in June 2018, with the "economy" part of the brief moving to the
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work and the infrastructure responsibilities moving to the
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. In February 2020, a
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture was appointed, taking over many of the responsibilities of the former portfolio, which were thus again held separately from the
Finance brief. The role was later once again remerged with the Finance brief to create the
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, held by
Kate Forbes. Under First Minister
Humza Yousaf,
Neil Gray was appointed as
Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Secretary, with the Finance brief again becoming a separate post. Following a reshuffle,
Màiri McAllan held the portfolio of
Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy. In May 2024,
John Swinney retitled the role to
Economy and Gaelic, and appointed
Kate Forbes concurrently with her role of
Deputy First Minister of Scotland. McAllan retained the other part of her role as
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy. ==Overview==