John Swinney
John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition, and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and, following boundary changes, has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
John Swinney
Alex Salmond
Nicola Sturgeon
Shona Robison (Finance)
Neil Gray (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)
Alex Salmond
Nicola Sturgeon
Office established
Office abolished
Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Constituency established
Constituency established
3,336 (9.8%)
3
Tom Hunter (uncle)
Born in Edinburgh, Swinney graduated with a MA in politics at the University of Edinburgh. He joined the SNP at a young age, and quickly rose to prominence by serving as the National Secretary from 1986 to 1992 and as Deputy Leader from 1998 to 2000. He served in the House of Commons as MP for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001. He was elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. After Salmond resigned the party leadership in 2000, Swinney was elected at the 2000 leadership election. He became Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. The SNP lost one MP at the 2001 general election and eight MSPs at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, despite the Officegate scandal unseating the previous Scottish Labour first minister, Henry McLeish. However, the only parties to gain seats in that election were the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which, like the SNP, support independence. After an unsuccessful challenge to his leadership in 2003, and the party's unfavourable results at the 2004 European Parliament election, Swinney resigned. Salmond returned to the role at the subsequent 2004 leadership election.
From 2004 to 2007, Swinney was a backbencher. At the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP won the highest number of seats, and Salmond was subsequently appointed first minister. Swinney served under Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth from 2007 to 2014. After Sturgeon succeeded Salmond, she appointed Swinney as Deputy First Minister 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. In March 2023, he announced his resignation from his senior positions 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 announcement of his resignation in April 2024, Swinney ran to succeed him at the 2024 SNP leadership election and was elected unopposed.
Early life[edit]
Family, education and early career[edit]
John Ramsay Swinney was born on 13 April 1964[1] in the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, the son of Kenneth Swinney, a garage manager,[2] and Agnes Weir Swinney (née Hunter).[3] His uncle Tom Hunter was awarded the Victoria Cross whilst serving with the Royal Marines during the Second World War.[4] His maternal grandparents, Ramsey and Mary Hunter, were from England, having moved to Edinburgh in the 1920s.[5][6]
Swinney 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.[7] He was a research officer for the Scottish Coal Project from 1987 to 1988, a senior management consultant with Development Options from 1988 to 1992, and a strategic planning principal with Scottish Amicable Life Assurance from 1992 to 1997.[8]
Early political involvement[edit]
Swinney joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1979 at the age of 15,[9] citing his anger at the way in which Scotland had been portrayed by television commentators at the Commonwealth Games.[10] He quickly became a prominent figure in the party's youth wing, the Young Scottish Nationalist, now known as the Young Scots for Independence (YSI).[11] He served as the SNP's Assistant National Secretary, before becoming the National Secretary in 1986, at the age of 22.[12]
SNP in opposition (2004–2007)[edit]
From 2004 until the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Swinney sat on the SNP's opposition backbenches. He served as a convener on the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee from 2004 to 2005 and deputy convener on the Finance Committee from 2005 to 2007. Swinney was a substitute member of the Audit Committee from 2004 to 2007.[69] In September 2005, Swinney was made Shadow Minister for Finance.[70][71]
Political positions[edit]
In September 2022, amid the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, Swinney stated that the monarch should remain head of state of an independent Scotland.[123] In May 2024, during an interview with Sky News, Swinney claimed that he believed that Scotland could become independent "in the next five years" as a consequence of Brexit and the cost of living crisis.[124] In May 2024, Swinney described himself as following a "moderate centre-left agenda".[125]
