Humza Yousaf

The 37-year-old son of South Asian immigrants is set to become the first person of color to serve as Scotland's first minister.

He says he wants to build a “settled, sustained” majority for independence. The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government in London has refused to authorize one, and the U.K. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. The smaller party had warned it might quit the coalition if the SNP elected a leader that doesn’t share its progressive views — meaning a victory by Forbes or Regan could have splintered the government. Yousaf has signaled he will act cautiously. A formidable leader who led the SNP to a dominant position in Scottish politics, Sturgeon failed in her aim of leading Scotland out of the United Kingdom, and divided the party with a contentious transgender rights law.

Humza Yousaf faces some enormous challenges as he takes over from Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister. Being the leader of a divided ...

At the start of the leadership contest Humza Yousaf seemed committed to challenging that position in court. While that is substantially true, it may not be the only factor. I expect that whatever she might be offered, Kate Forbes would want a fair amount of autonomy if she is to continue in government. Then of course there are significant policy issues to be addressed. That's not a prediction. In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the "bruising" nature of the leadership campaign and called for divisions to be healed quickly.

SNP members chose Yousaf over Scottish finance minister Forbes by a margin of 52% to 48%, after third-placed candidate Ash Regan was eliminated in a first vote.

The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government in London has refused to authorize one, and the U.K. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. The smaller party had warned it might quit the coalition if the SNP elected a leader that doesn’t share its progressive views — meaning a victory by Forbes or Regan could have splintered the government. and divided the party with a contentious transgender rights law. Yousaf, who currently is Scotland’s health minister, beat two other Scottish lawmakers in a contest to replace First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. “They couldn’t have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that two generations later their grandson would one day be Scotland’s first minister,” he said. The acrimonious SNP leadership contest has sent the SNP’s poll ratings plunging — to the delight of the Labour Party and the Conservatives, which hope to gain seats in Scotland during the next U.K.-wide Turnout among the 72,000 members was 70%. A formidable leader who led the SNP to a dominant position in Scottish politics, Sturgeon failed in her aim of taking Scotland out of the U.K. The SNP holds 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish parliament and governs in coalition with the much smaller Greens. Yousaf has promised to push forward with the bill, which has been passed by the Scottish parliament but blocked by the U.K. “We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message: that your color of skin, your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home.”

Humza Yousaf, the man set to become Scotland's first Muslim leader after a bruising contest to replace Nicola Sturgeon, is an experienced minister who faces ...

He joined the cabinet in 2018 as Secretary for Justice and became health minister in May 2021. After graduating he worked as an aide to a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) before being elected an MSP himself in 2011. He has a child with his second wife and also a step-daughter. Yousaf said he would seek to deliver in government to earn the trust of the electorate, while he also looked to build a case for independence among the undecided. Yousaf was first appointed a junior minister in 2012, at the time the youngest person and first ethnic minority to be appointed to the Scottish government. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

The 37-year-old Glasgow-born son of South Asian immigrants is set to be confirmed as first minister during a session of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on ...

The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government in London has refused to authorize one, and the U.K. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. The smaller party had warned it might quit the coalition if the SNP elected a leader that doesn’t share its progressive views — meaning a victory by Forbes or Regan could have splintered the government. and divided the party with a contentious transgender rights law. “They couldn’t have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that two generations later their grandson would one day be Scotland’s first minister,” he said. The acrimonious SNP leadership contest has sent the SNP’s poll ratings plunging — to the delight of the Labour Party and the Conservatives, which hope to gain seats in Scotland during the next U.K.-wide election, likely next year. Turnout among the 72,000 members was 70%. The SNP holds 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish parliament and governs in coalition with the much smaller Greens. [formidable leader](https://apnews.com/article/scotland-nicola-sturgeon-first-minister-snp-farewell-170b1c2661824681949b66f3db2b3007) who led the SNP to a dominant position in Scottish politics, Sturgeon failed in her aim of taking Scotland out of the U.K. Yousaf has promised to push forward with the bill, which has been passed by the Scottish parliament but blocked by the U.K. “We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message: that your color of skin, your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home.” [five-week contest](https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-kingdom-government-nicola-sturgeon-scotland-472e203af0371468ff2bcc288afd962d) that exposed [deep fractures](https://apnews.com/article/scotland-independence-snp-leadership-contest-0b17c9dd7b36bf1f379d91b3a33cc011) within the pro-independence Scottish National Party as it faces an impasse in its quest to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom.

Newly appointed leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf speaks at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on March 27, 2023. Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty ...

“We will be the generation that delivers independence for Scotland,” he said in a victory speech. It remains etched into the memories of many who experienced it, and their descendents. Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman also has Indian roots, while London mayor Sadiq Khan was born to a working-class Pakistani immigrant family. In 2014, Scotland voted against independence by 55%. The hardship reached a breaking point when his grandmother was attacked with an axe, he said. His mother was born in Nairobi, Kenya, also to a family from Punjabi descent. But 75 years since the end of the British Raj, many commentators have remarked at how history has come full circle. [interview](https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,interview-humza-yousaf-on-tackling-hate-headon_9401.htm) with Scotland’s Holyrood newspaper, Yousaf explained in detail how his mother’s family faced racial discrimination in the East African city for being seen as taking away jobs from the local population. Yousaf joined the SNP while he was a student at the University of Glasgow and rose through the ranks of the party, becoming a member of parliament in 2011 – the first Muslim and non-White cabinet minister to serve in the Scottish Government. Noor Ahmed, from the Citizen’s Archive of Pakistan, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and historic preservation, described the journey Yousaf has taken as a “Pakistani story that is moving and aspirational, and will be lauded locally.” On Tuesday, the Scottish Parliament will vote to elect the country’s sixth first minister, a position Yousaf is expected to claim as the head of the party with the most lawmakers. “It was time to get away and again, it made sense because there was a British call for people from the Commonwealth to come and take on industrial jobs,” Yousaf said.

He has pledged to be a "first minister for all of Scotland" after being chosen by party members to replace Nicola Sturgeon. Mr Yousaf, who had been serving as ...

Humza Yousaf has indicated he would like to continue that support, and indeed make it more of a priority for the Scottish government. Or does more of the focus need to be on poverty and disadvantage itself? None of these are simple, single issues to be filed away. An appeal for extra funding was met instead with the threat of 10% cuts. There's the clamour, notably from retailers, to reform business rates. Humza Yousaf is well aware of the mammoth task required to fix the problems across health and social care. And there is a question mark over economic strategy. But to deliver that will have to involve unpopular decisions about what the healthcare system can and cannot afford. But worries have been expressed that it is sometimes proving harder for other young people - who are not necessarily actively advantaged - to get places on certain courses. Can the government properly reset its strained relationship with teachers after the recent strike? It wanted to be judged by its progress raising attainment and helping children and young people from disadvantaged areas. Inevitably, the pandemic has thrown up new problems which are still real issues.

The 37-year-old son of South Asian immigrants is set to become the first person of color and the first Muslim to serve as Scotland's first minister.

The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government in London has refused to authorize one, and the U.K. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. The smaller party had warned it might quit the coalition if the SNP elected a leader that doesn’t share its progressive views — meaning a victory by Forbes or Regan could have splintered the government. and divided the party with a contentious transgender rights law. “They couldn’t have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that two generations later their grandson would one day be Scotland’s first minister,” he said. Turnout among the 72,000 members was 70%.

Voiced by artificial intelligence. LONDON — Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's first minister tomorrow, after the Scottish parliament ...

Yousaf will then begin the process of assembling his cabinet. Currently first minister-designate, Yousaf will formally become first minister tomorrow morning when he is sworn in at the Court of Session. After second preference votes were taken into account, he won 52.1 percent of the vote compared to 47.9 percent for Forbes.

The 37-year-old was elected Tuesday by lawmakers as the first Muslim leader of not just Scotland—but any Western democracy.

[according to](https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1640340872662327296?s=20) Sunder Katwala, the director of the British Future think tank. That his victory comes so soon after the election of Britain’s Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak](https://time.com/6224248/rishi-sunak-britain-new-prime-minister/) last year and Ireland’s Taoiseach [Leo Varadkar](https://time.com/4810472/leo-varadkar-republic-of-ireland/) returning to power in December 2022 means that, for the first time in history, the British, Scottish, and Irish leaders are all of South Asian origin. The most immediate electoral test for Yousaf will be the next U.K. [the three candidates](https://time.com/6265023/scotland-snp-first-minister-candidates-2023/), which included the Scottish finance secretary Kate Forbes and former junior minister Ash Regan, Yousaf was widely seen as the continuity candidate and the favorite of the SNP leadership (save for Sturgeon, who declined to endorse a successor). Such an outcome would be a major boon for the Scottish Labour and Conservative parties, both of which have struggled to best the SNP in recent elections. “As immigrants of this country who knew barely a word of English, they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of being the next First Minister of Scotland,” Yousaf said of his grandparents at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium on Monday.

Humza Yousaf on Tuesday succeeded Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's first minister. Appointment coincides with fight over transgender rights law.

They said in a statement: “We believe that Alice died partly because of the inaccessibility of gender-affirming healthcare in the U.K.” [website](https://gic.nhs.uk/appointments/waiting-times/), which currently only shows data from the same month that Litman died, reveals the waiting list to be 11,407 people long. More than half (51 percent) faced waits for mental health care, while [years-long waiting lists for gender-affirming care are well-documented](https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/11/15/transactual-study-reveals-volume-of-wait-times-issues/). politics, tweeted her anger at the misgendering:](https://twitter.com/AyoCaesar) The Gender Recognition Reform bill introduced by the Scottish government in Parliament (Holywood) last spring was passed in a final 86-39 vote days before this past Christmas. [Speaking to PinkNews](https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/03/27/humza-yousaf-snp-leadership-lgbtq/), Nicolson added: “I think young people want a Scotland which is socially progressive and liberal. [LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales](https://www.gov.wales/lgbtq-action-plan-wales). The BBC reported that an inquest is to be held into the death of Litman, who died by suicide while on a National Health Service waiting list for almost three years for gender-affirming healthcare. A political commentator and SNP source told the Washington Blade on Monday they are “happy with the result and motivated by what is to come. The Gender Recognition Reform bill introduced by the Scottish government in Holyrood last spring was passed in a final 86-39 vote days before this past Christmas. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for blocking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from being signed into law by King Charles III. Sturgeon had resigned as the SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister last month, setting off a close contest within the party to succeed her.