Government of Scotland

Scotland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Scotland

Scottish Government First Minister: Alex Salmond Deputy First Minister: Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Lord Advocate: Elish Angiolini Executive agencies Public bodies Scottish Parliament Acts Presiding Officer: Alex Fergusson Scottish Parliament Building Members (MSPs) : 1999, 2003, 2007 Constituencies and electoral regions Elections: 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 Legislative Consent Motion Scotland in the UK Her Majesty's Government Secretary of State: Jim Murphy Scotland Office Reserved matters Advocate General: Neil Davidson Parliament of the United Kingdom Constituencies Grand Committee Select Committee Elections: 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009/10 Lists of Scottish MPs Scots law Supreme courts Sheriff Courts Land Courts District Courts Lord Lyon Court Scotland in the EU European Parliament European Parliament constituency Elections: 2004, 2009 Local government Subdivisions of Scotland Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

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Prior to 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state, ruled by a monarch and the Parliament of Scotland, though from 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, Scotland had shared a single monarch with Kingdom of England. (see Union of the Crowns).

In 1707, as a result of the Treaty of Union agreed the previous year, the Parliaments of England and Scotland each passed Acts of Union to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Later, in 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland merged with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927, in recognition of the independence of most of the island of Ireland in 1922.

Between 1707 and 1999, Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom was the sole government with authority over Scotland. However, the existence of distinct Scottish institutions such as its education and legal system led to a degree of administrative separation in the form of the Scottish Office. In 1999, following the passage of the Scotland Act 1998, the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive were established with devolved powers.

In August 2007, the incoming SNP administration decided to rename the Scottish Executive 'the Scottish Government'^[1] and this terminology has now been generally adopted by the opposition political parties^[2][3][4] and the media.

References

See also

• Parliament of Scotland (pre-1707 sovereign parliament)
• Scottish Parliament (post-1999 devolved parliament)
• Scottish Government