Humza Yousaf

Humza Yousaf was born on 7 April 1985 in Rutherglen Maternity Hospital in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. He is a son of first-generation Muslim Rajput of Pakistani immigrants: his father Mian Muzaffar Yousaf was born in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan, and emigrated from the city with his family in the 1960s, eventually working as an accountant. His paternal grandfather worked in the Singer sewing machine factory in Clydebank in the 1960s. Due to their non-African background, her family was regularly harassed and occasionally assaulted: following an incident where her mother was attacked with an axe, they emigrated to Scotland. Humza attended Mearns Primary School in Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire. Yousaf was one of two ethnic-minority pupils to attend his primary school. He described the September 11 attacks as the "day that changed the world and for me" when he was 16 years old. Prior to the attack, Yousaf was close to two pupils whom he sat next to in his registration class, but after the attack in New York, he claims that they asked him questions such as, "Why do Muslims hate America?" He graduated in 2007 with a Master of Arts (MA). == Early career and political involvement ==

From an early age, Yousaf was involved in community work, ranging from youth organisations to charity fundraising. He was the volunteer media spokesperson for the charity Islamic Relief, Yousaf joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2005, while studying at Glasgow university. Speeches by then-party leader Alex Salmond and anti-war activist Rose Gentle speaking out against the Iraq War convinced him that independence would be the only way for Scotland to avoid going to war. He started campaigning extensively for the SNP, including for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, which resulted in the first SNP government in Scotland and Yousaf's first job in the Scottish parliament. before working 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. 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. Before his election to the Scottish Parliament, he worked in the SNP's headquarters as a communications officer. 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. == Early parliamentary career ==

Election to Holyrood Yousaf was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region in the 2011 election. At 26 years old, he was the youngest MSP to be elected to the 4th parliament. When being sworn in, he took his oath in English and then in Urdu, reflecting his Scottish-Pakistani identity; he was dressed in a traditional sherwani decorated with a Partick Thistle tartan touch, and a plaid draped over his shoulder. He served on the SNP's backbenches and was a member of the parliament's justice and public audit committees. On 25 May 2011, Yousaf was appointed as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister, remaining in this post until 4 September 2012. Junior ministerial career (2012–2018) On 5 September 2012, First Minister Alex Salmond appointed Yousaf as Minister for External Affairs and International Development, responsible for external affairs, international development; fair trade policy and diaspora. This junior ministerial appointment saw him working under the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. He was the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to be appointed as a minister to the Scottish Government. 's nomination for first minister, 19 November 2014 In October 2013, he outlined the SNP's plans to set out the United Nations target for overseas aid at 0.7% in an independent Scotland and accused the UK Government of going back on its promise in the 2010 coalition agreement to guarantee that level of spending. Yousaf also outlined that an independent Scotland would "add a progressive voice to global issues promoting peace, equality and fairness" and added independence would be "achieved through a democratic, peaceful means without a single drop of blood being spilled and engaging with all the diverse communities that make up our rich tapestry in Scotland.". When Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in November 2014 following Salmond's resignation, 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. On 18 May 2016, he was appointed as Minister for Transport and the Islands following the formation of Sturgeon's second government. Cabinet Secretary for Justice (2018–2021) On 26 June 2018, Sturgeon reshuffled her cabinet. She promoted Yousaf to the Scottish cabinet to serve as Cabinet Secretary for Justice, succeeding Michael Matheson. In the year prior to his appointment (2017–18), 244,504 crimes were recorded by the police in Scotland; in the final year of his tenure (2020–21), the figure was 246,511. Hate Crime Bill 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 minorities while maintaining rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The bill has been criticised by the Catholic Church, the National Secular Society as well as writers, and in September 2020 it was amended to remove prosecution for cases of unintentionally stirring up hate, which could theoretically include libraries stocking contentious books. Despite his initial promises, Yousaf in October 2020 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. Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (2021–2023) Climate Action for Health event, 2021 In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Yousaf was re-elected as the MSP for the Glasgow Pollok constituency. The SNP fell two seats short of an overall majority in the election, but remained the largest party, with more than double the seats of the Scottish Conservatives. Sturgeon formed a third government and appointed Yousaf as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Jeane Freeman, who stepped down at the election. COVID-19 pandemic press conference on COVID-19 in 2020. Yousaf entered office amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021, he said that ten children up to the age of nine had been admitted to Scottish hospitals in the previous week "because of COVID". 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". In July, the World Health Organisation concluded that six out of Europe's ten virus hotspots were in Scotland. Tayside topped the list with 1,002 cases per 100,000 head of population over the previous fortnight. 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. 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." NHS waiting times 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. 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. Following reports of elderly Scots dying while waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Yousaf asked the Ministry of Defence for help and soldiers from the British Army were deployed to drive ambulances. Audit Scotland concluded that 500 people died in Scotland in 2021 due to delayed access to emergency treatment. 2023 SNP leadership election On 15 February 2023, Nicola Sturgeon resigned as Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland, which triggered a leadership election within the SNP to elect her successor. On 18 February, Yousaf declared his candidacy for leader in an interview with the Sunday Mail. He committed to challenging the UK Government over its decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and stated he wanted to increase support for Scottish independence before delivering a referendum. Yousaf launched his leadership campaign in Clydebank on 20 February. He said he was not "wedded" with using the 2024 United Kingdom general election as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence and that one of the issues would be the inability for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to vote. Yousaf reaffirmed his commitment to defend the Scottish Parliament against the UK Government's Section 35 order, which aims to block the gender reform bill. He added that he could not pretend the bill had not "caused some division" within his party and stated he was "keen to work with those who have got real concerns". Yousaf stated his support for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, while his opponents Kate Forbes and Ash Regan opposed it. As confirmed on 27 March 2023, Yousaf won the leadership race, after being victorious in both rounds of voting. He won the first round with 48.2% of first-preference votes, ahead of Forbes who received 40.7%, and Regan who received 11.1%, thus eliminating Regan. He then won the final round of voting with 52.1% of the vote compared to Forbes with 47.9%. Yousaf accepted the leadership at an event at Murrayfield Stadium where he promised to lead the party in the interest of all its members. ==First Minister of Scotland (2023–2024)==

in Edinburgh, March 2023 Yousaf was sworn in as First Minister of Scotland on 29 March 2023, after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III, becoming the youngest person and the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to hold the office since it was created in 1999. In September 2023, the New Statesman named him the thirteenth-most powerful left-wing figure in the UK. Domestic policy Yousaf worked to challenge the UK Government's section 35 order of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. During his first meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, Yousaf requested a section 30 order to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence. Sunak rejected the request. In June 2023, Yousaf launched the fourth Building a New Scotland paper which focused on the constitution of an independent Scotland. Yousaf declared that there would be a written constitution for an independent Scotland, claiming that such a constitution would set a benchmark in which no future Scottish Government could fall short of as it would be a constitution enshrined into Scots law. Yousaf declared that the government had placed a commitment to a constitution that gave the population "the right to access a system of healthcare free at the point of need, as well as rules on land ownership and environmental provisions". Opposition parties in Scotland criticised Yousaf and the Scottish Government for "focusing on the wrong priorities". A spokesman for the UK Government said "We want to work constructively with the Scottish government to tackle our shared challenges because that is what families and businesses in Scotland expect" and that "this is not the time to be talking about distracting constitutional change". He expressed support for the introduction of the deposit return scheme, but not in its current form, suggesting it should exclude small businesses. He emphasised the need for a wellbeing economy and has proposed introducing a new wealth tax to raise money for more welfare benefits. Drugs policy During the early days of his tenure as First Minister, Scotland's drugs death had fallen to its lowest levels in five years, however, it still had a higher drug death rate than the other countries of the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe. As First Minister, Yousaf advocated that the Scottish Government supports decriminalising drugs for personal use. Yousaf urged the UK Government to examine the evidence surrounding drug rehabilitation rooms and to introduce such a facility in Glasgow, an area of Scotland's with considerably high drug related deaths and incidents. He highlighted his support and commitment to the continuation of free tuition in Scotland by saying he was "absolutely committed to ensuring we have free education" and that "university education should be on the ability to learn not the ability to pay". Yousaf used his own daughter as an example, and argued as to whether his daughter should be entitled to free school meals considering Yousaf's high salary as First Minister of Scotland. After mounting pressure on the backdrop of his statement, Yousaf pledged his support and commitment to free school meals and reaffirmed that the policy of free school meals in Scotland would not be ending and confirmed the Scottish Government's plans to introduce free school meals entitlement in secondary school, however, Yousaf did not provide a timescale for this delivery. In August 2023, Yousaf launched the Reading Schools project, a replacement initiative of the First Minister's Reading Challenge which was established under Yousaf's predecessor Nicola Sturgeon. 371 schools across Scotland have become accredited as "reading schools", with the hope of an additional 511 schools looking to have joined the project in the future. This is "an accreditation programme for schools that are committing to building a reading culture for their learners and communities". Yousaf claimed that it was the intention of the Scottish Government to "see every school in Scotland become part of the scheme in the next three to five years" to promote and improve reading in Scottish schools. Hate crime policy Programme for government In September 2023, Yousaf launched his first Programme for Government. The programme for government focuses on reducing poverty, delivering economic growth, tackle climate change and provide high quality public services. International affairs , Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, 2024 Yousaf entered office as First Minister on the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling that the Scottish Government does not have the power to legislate for another referendum on Scottish independence. His predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, had, prior to leaving office, published a series of Scottish Government papers on Scottish independence, titled Building a New Scotland. In December 2023, Yousaf met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan without UK officials, leading Foreign Secretary David Cameron to issue a warning, threatening to withdraw FCDO support for Scottish ministers due to a breach of protocol. European Union Yousaf's first international visit as First Minister was to Brussels in June 2023, which, during a three-day visit, sought to set out his "vision for a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship" between Scotland and the European Union. Yousaf declared his desire to set up a permanent Scottish Government envoy to the European Union in Brussels to "aid the cause of independence." Scotland–Pakistan relations Yousaf and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif met in May 2023 in London, with both Yousaf and Sharif declaring a commitment to "further strengthen historic ties between Pakistan and Scotland, including in the domains of trade, investment, education, water management, wind & solar technology and people to people links." Ukraine invasion Vadym Prystaiko During the SNP leadership bid, Yousaf was highly criticised and dubbed as "embarrassing" by asking "where are all the men?" when meeting a group of Ukrainian women. The group of women explained to Yousaf that their husbands were in Ukraine continuing to engage in resistance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yousaf told the BBC that there were in fact Ukrainian men in the building and that the group of women he had addressed the question to did not appear to take offence. He said that it was important for countries in Europe and around the world to continue to pledge their support for Ukraine and assist the Ukrainian efforts in any way possible, and that following the war, that those countries help Ukraine to rebuild. He called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and criticised Israel's blockade and bombing of the Gaza Strip that killed thousands of Palestinian civilians, saying that "Israel has a right to protect itself from terror, but that cannot be at the price of innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with those attacks. That collective punishment has to be condemned." On 1 November 2023, he condemned Israel for the "blatant disregard for human life" after airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. He called on Home Secretary Suella Braverman to resign after she branded pro-Palestinian protesters "hate marchers" and far-right counter-protesters subsequently clashed with police in London. Yousaf accused her of "fanning the flames of division". Resignation After Yousaf terminated the Bute House Agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens, he faced imminent votes of no confidence in himself and his government. Yousaf announced his intention to resign as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland on 29 April 2024. ==Post–First Minister (2024–present)==

At an event in Edinburgh in August 2024, Yousaf admitted that he had made a mistake when he ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens. In November 2024, the Daily Record reported that Yousaf had submitted his application to be a candidate at the next Holyrood election, however a month later Yousaf announced that, in fact, he would not seek re-election as an MSP in 2026. == Political positions ==

Yousaf has been described as socially progressive. He is a follower of his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, and is in favour of continuing her socially progressive policies. This formed a major part of his leadership election campaign in March 2023, and he was successfully elected as Leader of the Scottish National Party. He supports Scottish republicanism, stating: "I believe we should be citizens first, not subjects." He attended the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey in London on 6 May 2023. He has proposed introducing a wealth tax to raise money for welfare benefits. He has supported the idea for holding a second referendum, often informally described as "indyref2". Yousaf has raised concerns over using the 2024 United Kingdom general election as a de facto referendum as it would not allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. He also believes another referendum should only be held if there is clear public support, stating "It isn't good enough to have polls that put support for independence at 50 per cent or 51%." In 2020, Yousaf expressed support for increasing the racial diversity among top government positions in Scotland. He stated "for 99% of the meetings I go to, I'm the only non-White person in the room... Every chair of every public body is White. That is not good enough." Yousaf said in 2023 that he was "firmly committed to equality for everyone" and has vocally supported same-sex marriage and gender reforms for transgender persons. In 2014, he was absent for the final vote of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 due to a ministerial engagement, although he voted in favour of the bill in earlier stages. He also voted in favour of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. Additionally, Yousaf has vowed to secure the rights of the LGBT community in a written constitution if Scotland gains independence. Yousaf is a strong advocate of LGBT rights. On the topic of marriage equality and gay sex he commented: "I believe that people's marriage, if they are gay, and they are married, that their marriage is no more inferior, or worth less, than my marriage as a heterosexual individual. So no, I don't subscribe to that view [that gay sex is a sin]." Amid controversy over Kate Forbes' religious views, Yousaf, a practising Muslim, said that he does not "legislate on the basis of [his] faith". Yousaf's belief that gay sex is not a sin caused controversy in the Muslim community, leading to prominent Muslim figures like Mohammad Hijab and Hamza Tzortzis excommunicating him from Islam. On 24 June 2023, at an event at the Caird Hall in Dundee, Yousaf restated the SNP's intention of using the next general election as a de facto referendum to demand Scottish independence. In October 2023, he announced that this would take the form of interpreting the SNP winning a majority of UK parliamentary seats in Scotland as a vote for independence. == Parliamentary electoral history ==

2021 2016 ==Personal life==

in Edinburgh, 2023 (from left to right; his step-daughter, himself, his wife, Nadia, and mother Shaaista) Yousaf was married to former SNP worker Gail Lythgoe from 2010 to 2016. In 2019, he married psychotherapist Nadia El-Nakla and has two daughters and one stepdaughter. In May 2019, their first child was born. In March 2024, the couple announced that they were expecting another child. On 17 July 2024, Yousaf announced the birth of their second child. They live in Broughty Ferry, Dundee. In November 2016, Yousaf was fined £300 and had six penalty points added to his driving licence, after being caught by police 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." He and his second wife made a complaint of discrimination against a Dundee children's nursery that did not offer a place to their daughter in 2021. The complaint was upheld by the Care Inspectorate who found that the nursery "did not promote fairness, equality and respect" in terms of its admission policy. The legal action was subsequently terminated by Yousaf and Nadia. On 9 October 2023, Yousaf announced that his wife's parents were "stuck" in the Gaza Strip following the Gaza war. On 5 November, they were able to return to Scotland. ==Honours==

Yousaf was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 17 May 2023 at Buckingham Palace. Membership of the privy council is lifelong and members are addressed as "The Right Honourable". ==See also==