Nicola Sturgeon
| Nicola Sturgeon MSP | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 17 May, 2007 |
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| First Minister | Alex Salmond |
| Preceded by | Nicol Stephen |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP)
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 September, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Gordon Jackson |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Constituency | Glasgow Govan |
| Majority | 744 (3.5%) |
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| Born | 19 July 1970 Irvine, Scotland |
Nicola Sturgeon (born on 19 July, 1970 in Irvine, North Ayrshire) is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Member (MSP) of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Govan.
Sturgeon became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in
The SNP won the highest amount of seats in the Scottish Parliament following the 2007 election, and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister of Scotland. He appointed Sturgeon to be his Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
Background and family life
Nicola Sturgeon was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire. She was educated at Greenwood Academy, Irvine, and later studied law at the University of Glasgow where she graduated with an LLB (Hons) and Diploma in Legal Practice.[1] At University she was active in the SNP student wing through Glasgow University Scottish Nationalist Association.
She worked as a solicitor in the Drumchapel Law Centre in Glasgow before becoming an MSP.
Her partner is Peter Murrell, the SNP's Chief Executive.
Early political career
Sturgeon joined the Scottish National Party in 1986 and became Youth Affairs Vice Convener and Publicity Vice Convener. She is also a member of the SNP's National Executive.[2]
She first stood for election in the 1992 UK election as SNP's candidate in the Glasgow Shettleston constituency, and was the youngest parliamentary candidate in Scotland, although she failed to win the seat.
The 1997 general election saw Sturgeon selected to fight the Glasgow Govan seat for the SNP. Boundary changes meant that the notional Labour majority in the seat had increased substantially; however, infighting between the two rival candidates for the Labour nomination, Mohammed Sarwar and Mike Watson, along with an energetic local campaign, resulted in Glasgow Govan being the only UK seat to see a swing away from Labour in the midst of a Labour landslide UK-wide.
Scottish Parliament
SNP spokeswoman
Sturgeon stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in the
She was appointed the SNP's spokeswoman for health, education and later for justice.
2004 SNP leadership contest
On 22 June, 2004, John
Swinney resigned as leader of the SNP, following poor results in the 2004 European Parliament election. His deputy,
However, Alex Salmond later staged a U-turn and announced he would stand for the leadership. Sturgeon withdrew from the contest and declared her support for Salmond, standing instead for the Deputy Leadership. It was reported that Salmond had privately supported Sturgeon in her leadership bid, but decided to run for the position himself as it became apparent she was unlikely to beat Roseanna Cunningham.[5] The majority of the SNP hierarchy lent their support to the Salmond-Sturgeon bid for the leadership, although MSP Alex Neil backed Salmond as leader, but refused to endorse Sturgeon as deputy leader.[6]
The results of the leadership contest were announced on 3 September, 2004, with Salmond and Sturgeon elected as Leader and Deputy Leader. As Salmond was still an MP in the House of Commons, Sturgeon would lead the SNP at the Scottish Parliament until the 2007 election, when Salmond was elected as an MSP.[7]
Deputy Leader
As leader of the SNP in the Scottish Parliament, Nicola Sturgeon has become a high profile figure in Scottish politics, and regularly clashed with the First Minister, Jack McConnell at First Minister's Questions. This included rows over the House of Commons' decision to replace the Trident nuclear weapon system; and the SNP's plans to replace council tax in Scotland with a local income tax.[8]
Sturgeon defeated Gordon Jackson with a 4.7% swing to the SNP in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election in Govan. The SNP won 9,010 votes (41.9%) which was an increase of +10.7% while Labour received 8,266 votes or 38.4%.
After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election, Sturgeon was appointed as the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
References
- ^ Alba.org.uk- Candidates and Constituency Assessments
- ^ SNP.org- Nicola Sturgeon
- ^ BBC News- "Under-fire SNP leader resigns"
- ^ BBC News- "Sturgeon contests SNP leadership"
- ^ Edinburgh News- "Salmond in shock bid for leader"
- ^ Scotsman.com- "Salmond's arch-rival buries hatchet with declaration of support"
- ^ BBC News- "Salmond named as new SNP leader"
- ^ BBC News-"Parties clash on Trident and tax"
External links
| Scottish Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gordon Jackson |
Member of the
Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Govan 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nicol Stephen |
Deputy First
Minister of Scotland 2007 – present |
Incumbent |
Deputy First Ministers of
Scotland  |
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| Jim Wallace · Nicol Stephen · Nicola Sturgeon |
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Scottish
Cabinet |
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| Alex Salmond
(First Minister) ·
Nicola Sturgeon (Deputy First
Minister and Health and Wellbeing) · John Swinney (Finance and Sustainable Growth) · Fiona Hyslop (Education and Lifelong Learning) · |
Members of the Scottish Parliament in
the Glasgow region  |
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Elected in the 2007 election |
| Scottish National Party MSPs |
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Elected in the 2007 election |
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