In the
May 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 64 of the 129 seats contested, and the incumbent first minister Nicola Sturgeon soon afterwards announced her intention to form a minority government. She was nominated for the post of first minister by a vote of the
Scottish Parliament on 18 May, defeating
Scottish Conservative leader
Douglas Ross and
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader
Willie Rennie by 64 votes to 31 and 4 respectively. Long standing ministers
Jeane Freeman,
Michael Russell,
Roseanna Cunningham and
Aileen Campbell did not seek re-election to the 6th Scottish Parliament, with
Fiona Hyslop and
Fergus Ewing standing down from government. This left Sturgeon with many empty posts. Shortly after being elected, Sturgeon re-appointed
John Swinney as
deputy first minister and also appointed him to the newly created
Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery post.
Humza Yousaf,
Kate Forbes,
Shirley-Anne Somerville and
Michael Matheson all remained in government.
Shona Robison and
Keith Brown made a return to cabinet, having served in Sturgeon's previous governments. Only
Mairi Gougeon and
Angus Robertson were new to cabinet. The
Scottish Parliament confirmed the appointment of ministers and junior ministers on 20 May., 2021|leftIn May 2021, both the
Lord Advocate,
James Wolffe, and
Solicitor General for Scotland,
Alison Di Rollo, announced their intention to step down as Scotland's top law officers. On 17 June, Sturgeon nominated
Dorothy Bain to serve as
Lord Advocate and
Ruth Charteris to serve as
Solicitor General. This is the first time in history both posts have been held by women. On 20 August 2021, following two months of negotiations, the SNP and
Scottish Greens announced a power-sharing agreement, the
Bute House Agreement. While not an
official coalition, it would be the first time in both Scottish and UK history that Green politicians would be in government. The Greens held two ministerial posts. The agreement will see both parties pledge for a second referendum on
Scottish independence, an increase investment in active travel and public transport, enhancing tenants rights, a ten-year £500m
Just Transition and establishing a National Care Service. On 21 February 2023, Sturgeon chaired her final meeting of her third cabinet following her resignation the previous month. It was also Swinney's final attendance to a Scottish Cabinet, having announced his retirement from government after serving under
First Minister Alex Salmond and Sturgeon from 2007 until 2023. Swinney later became First Minister in May 2024 following the
2024 Scottish government crisis that led to Yousaf's resignation. == Cabinet ==