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The Right Honourable
John Swinney
MSP
John Swinney - First Minister (53720492021) (cropped).jpg
Official portrait, 2024
First Minister of Scotland
Assumed office
8 May 2024
Monarch Charles III
Deputy Kate Forbes
Preceded by Humza Yousaf
Leader of the Scottish National Party
Assumed office
6 May 2024
Depute Keith Brown
Preceded by Humza Yousaf
In office
26 September 2000 – 3 September 2004
Depute Roseanna Cunningham
Preceded by Alex Salmond
Succeeded by Alex Salmond
Personal details
Born
John Ramsay Swinney

(1964-04-13) 13 April 1964 (age 61)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party Scottish National Party
Spouses
Lorna King
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 1998)​
​
​
(annulled 2003)​
Elizabeth Quigley
​
(m. 2003)​
Children 3
Relatives Tom Hunter (uncle)
Residence Bute House
Alma mater University of Edinburgh (MA Hons)
Website
First Minister of Scotland

John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish National Party since 2024 and previously from 2000 to 2004. He held various Scottish Cabinet roles under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first representing North Tayside, and then, Perthshire North since 2011.

Early life

John Ramsay Swinney was born on 13 April 1964 in the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, the son of Kenneth Swinney, a garage manager, and Agnes Weir Swinney (née Hunter). His uncle Tom Hunter was awarded the Victoria Cross whilst serving with the Royal Marines during the Second World War. His maternal grandparents, Ramsey and Mary Hunter, were from England, having moved to Edinburgh in the 1920s.

He was educated at Forrester High School, before attending the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an Master of Arts Honours degree in politics in 1986.

Political career

Swinney joined the SNP at a young age and quickly rose to prominence serving as the National Secretary from 1986 to 1992 and Deputy Leader of the SNP from 1998 to 2000. He served in the British House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.

Swinney was elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament in 1999. In 2002, he became Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. After an unsuccessful leadership challenge in 2003, Swinney stepped down.

From 2004 to 2007, Swinney sat in the SNP's opposition backbench. In the 2007 Scottish election, the SNP won the highest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister of Scotland. Swinney served under Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth from 2007 to 2014. After Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Salmond, she appointed Swinney as Deputy First Minister of Scotland in 2014. He also served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, until that role was divided into two posts in the second Sturgeon government as a result of the expansion of the Scottish Parliament's financial powers; he was then appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in 2016, and then as Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery in 2021. On 25 May 2022, Swinney became the longest serving Deputy First Minister, surpassing the previous record which was held by Sturgeon. Swinney served as Acting Finance and Economy Secretary in addition to his position of Covid Recovery Secretary from July 2022 to March 2023, covering the duties of Kate Forbes during her period of maternity leave. In March 2023, Swinney announced his resignation as Deputy First Minister in response to Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister.

Swinney spent the duration of Humza Yousaf's premiership on the backbenches and served as a member of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee. Following Yousaf's resignation in April 2024, Swinney ran to succeed him in the 2024 SNP leadership election and was elected unopposed.

He was officially sworn into office as first minister of Scotland on 8 May 2024 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III.

Personal life

John Swinney (2016)
Swinney in 2016
Court of Session (53707469110)
Swinney with his wife, Elizabeth Quigley, and their son, Matthew, in 2024.

Swinney was married to Lorna King from 1991 to 1998. They had two children: Judith and Stuart. The couple divorced in 1998 after the Daily Record revealed King had an affair with a married nursery teacher. The marriage was subsequently annulled by the Scottish Catholic Tribunal in order that he be allowed to marry in the Catholic Church in Scotland. In 2003, Swinney married Elizabeth Quigley, a BBC Scotland News reporter. Quigley was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2000. In 2010, she gave birth to Swinney's third child, Matthew. They live near Blairgowrie in Perth and Kinross.

Swinney has described himself as "a man of deep Christian faith".

Images for kids

  • John Swinney in Scottish Parliament debate

    Swinney speaking in a Scottish Parliament debate, June 2000

  • John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Sustainable Growth (1)

    Swinney's official portrait as Cabinet Secretary for Sustainable Growth

  • First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Deputy First Minister John Swinney

    Swinney with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after his appointment as Deputy First Minister, November 2014

  • Meeting of new Scottish Cabinet, 2016

    Sturgeon and Swinney head the first meeting of the Scottish Cabinet, May 2016

  • John Swinney (2021)

    Swinney at a COVID-19 press conference in 2021

  • JohnSwinneySNPLeadershipCampaignLogo

    Swinney's leadership campaign logo.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: John Swinney para niños

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