Who is John Swinney, Scotland’s new first minister after Humza Yousaf quit?
Al Jazeera
Mild-mannered, 60-year-old Swinney, who joined the SNP at 15, is the party’s third leader in 14 months.
Glasgow, Scotland – Bespectacled, mild-mannered John Swinney is not a political firebrand.
The new leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), who was officially sworn in as Scotland’s seventh first minister on Wednesday, has made a career out of being a steady political presence at the heart of an SNP government, which has been in power for 17 years.
The veteran politician, who served as Scottish finance secretary and deputy first minister in previous SNP administrations, and who was SNP leader between 2000 and 2004 during the party’s years in opposition at the devolved Scottish Parliament, described his ascendancy to Scotland’s highest office as “something of a surprise”.
Lawmakers confirmed his appointment on Tuesday following Humza Yousaf‘s resignation last month.
“When I stood down as deputy first minister in March last year, I believed that would be the last senior office I would hold in politics,” Swinney told the Scottish Parliament following his confirmation. “Having served then as a senior minister for 16 years, I felt I had – to coin a phrase – done my bit.”
