Humza Yousaf

Scottish health secretary set to become first minister on Wednesday after securing 52% of vote.

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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.

Humza Yousaf has been elected as the leader of the Scottish National Party and is set to become the first Muslim and Asian to occupy the highest position.

When second preferences were distributed in the second stage, Yousaf took 26,032 (52%) and Forbes took 23,890 (48%). For first preferences in the STV system, Yousaf polled 24,336 votes (48%), Forbes gathered 20,559 votes (40%) and Regan had 5,599 votes (11%). Humza Yousaf has been elected as the leader of the Scottish National Party and is set to become the first Muslim and Asian to occupy the highest position.

Yousaf was also the first South Asian and first Muslim cabinet secretary to serve in the Scottish Government having served as the Cabinet Secretary for Health ...

Yousaf said in 2023 that he was firmly committed to equality for everyone and has vocally supported same-sex marriage and gender reforms for trans people. It is the making of a streak in history for Scotland as Nicola Sturgeon, who is handing over to Yousaf is the first female and longest serving First Minister of the country. In 2020, Yousaf expressed support for increasing the racial diversity among top government positions in Scotland. He was later appointed Europe minister before being appointed minister for transport and the islands in 2016. Nicola Sturgeon announced her intention to form a third administration and appointed Yousaf as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Jeane Freeman, who stepped down at the election. Humza Yousaf of the ruling Scottish National Party has been elected as the first Muslim and person of colour to serve as Scotland’s First Minister since the position was established in 1999.

Health secretary beats rivals to replace Nicola Sturgeon in campaign that exposed party's deep divisions.

She said she expected Yousaf to accept that discussions about the SNP’s policies and direction had to continue now the leadership contest was over – a strong hint she wanted him to compromise on his policies. She insisted she was a democrat, adding: “I’m here to support the new leader of the SNP. “Over the last five weeks, we may have been competitors or supporters of different candidates. Yousaf secured less of Regan’s second preference votes than Forbes but took enough to win. “We’re absolutely united [but] we want to create the opportunity in the party now to continue to discuss ideas, but we are united as one, to serve the people of Scotland.” The turnout was 70%.

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.

For the first time in its history, Scotland elected its first Muslim leader, Humza Yousaf, who won the Scottish National Party leadership contest.

He was the president of the Univeristy of Glasgow Muslim Students Association. The SNP members chose Yousaf over finance minister Forbes by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent after the third candidate Ash Regan was eliminated. Humza Haroon Yousaf was born on April 7, 1985, to Punjabi immigrants in Glasgow.

Elected to lead the pro-independence Scottish National Party, the 37-year-old politician with Pakistani roots will have to navigate his party and government ...

Yousaf was born and raised in Glasgow in a working-class family and attended local schools before earning a degree in politics from the University of Glasgow. Many have lauded him for his trailblazing role as the first person of colour and Muslim to hold the top position. However, others have questioned his qualifications and experience, and some have criticised his support for Scottish independence. The case was later Yousaf’s political career has been marked by a commitment to social justice and equality. The number was as high as 58 percent in 2020. Yousaf runs against Kate Forbes and Ash Regan — two influential members of the Scottish party. Before the election, Yousaf was targeted by his opponents for being too local, focused on identity politics and not sufficient on the country’s policy issues. But a recent opinion poll conducted in March “I will be a First Minister for all of Scotland. His historic election has been seen as a sign of progress and a testament to the diversity and inclusivity of Scottish society. After earning a degree from the University of Glasgow for politics, Yousaf worked as a researcher for the SNP and was later elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament in 2011.

Scotland's parliament is set to confirm Humza Yousaf as the new first minister on Tuesday, after he narrowly won the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as ...

He will have his own leadership style,” Gray added. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will vote to confirm a new first minister later on Tuesday, with Yousaf ensured of succeeding Sturgeon given the SNP is the largest party in the devolved assembly. “He will look to utilise the talent across the party in a big-tent approach,” Gray told Times Radio. Promising to be a leader “for all of Scotland”, he pledged to “kickstart” a civic movement that would “ensure our drive for independence is in fifth gear”. “We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message that your colour of skin, or your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home,” Yousaf said in his victory speech. The 37-year-old will be the youngest first minister since devolution reforms created the Scottish parliament in 1999, and the first leader of a national UK party from a minority ethnic background.

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 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.

The UK is now the only democracy where the children of formerly colonised people are running the country that colonised their parents' and grandparents' ...

They were part of a generation of immigrants who were able to come to the UK and make a better life for themselves. Class is the true divide in British politics, whatever colour rosette a candidate wears. Sunak the son of a doctor and a pharmacist. It remains to be seen whether their ethnicity becomes a factor in the public debate around their politics. This reminds us that the ethnic minority political identity is not uniform, although for years parties on the left took the minority vote for granted. It is important to note that neither Yousaf or Sunak have yet faced the real stress test. [first minister of Scotland](https://theconversation.com/humza-yousaf-becomes-scotlands-first-minister-a-decade-of-polls-suggest-hell-struggle-to-deliver-independence-just-like-nicola-sturgeon-202666) is a historic moment for the UK. His political awakening had taken place a decade earlier in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Indeed, it is rare to hear him described as a “Muslim minister” or “British Asian MSP”. Though Yousaf has stated he is a practising Muslim, he is also clear that he does not believe that legislators should be led by faith in their decision-making. This first wave of postcolonial migrants often worked in the great British industries, in factories and in mills, settling in large town and cities. The moment is monumental.

Scotland's parliament on Tuesday confirmed Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, the devolved nation's youngest and the first Muslim ...

“I think what it says about the UK is that we are a welcoming group of nations, and Scotland in particular,” Stephen Flynn, the party’s leader in the UK parliament, told AFP. Yousaf called the discussion “constructive” but in a thinly veiled reference to holding another referendum, said he “also made clear that I expect the democratic wishes of Scotland’s people and Parliament to be respected”. She later tweeted that she wishes longtime ally Yousaf “every success and will be willing him on every step of the way”. “I will also argue vigorously for independence,” he added afterwards, pledging in the meantime “to make the best possible use of this parliament’s existing powers”. He then secured the nominations of a majority of lawmakers in a vote Tuesday to become the new first minister and will be formally sworn in on Wednesday. Ahead of the confirmatory vote, Yousaf acknowledged he had “some very big shoes to fill” succeeding Sturgeon but vowed to “continue to ensure that Scotland is a positive, progressive voice on the world stage”.