# First Salmond government

The first Salmond government, which was sworn in on 17 May 2007 at the start of the 3rd Scottish Parliament, was an SNP minority government.
Having won the largest number of seats in the general election (47 of 129) the SNP sought to form a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. When those talks failed, the SNP chose to form a one-party minority government. The SNP and Scottish Greens signed an agreement where the Greens supported SNP ministerial appointments, but did not offer support for any confidence or budget votes ("confidence and supply"). SNP leader, Alex Salmond was elected First Minister on 16 May 2007; he was officially sworn in and his slate of ministerial appointments were ratified by the Scottish Parliament the following day.
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## History

Due to the agreement signed with the Greens, Salmond's investiture vote was successful despite only having 47 of 129 seats in the Parliament. The vote was 49–46, with the SNP and Greens voting in favour and the 46 Scottish Labour MSPs voting against, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstaining.
On 16 May 2007, a few hours after Salmond was sworn in by parliament, he announced his intention to form a government composed of five cabinet secretaries and ten junior ministers. Furthermore, the Lord Advocate lost her seat in the cabinet.
A cabinet reshuffle took place in February 2009.

## Cabinet
### May 2007 to February 2009

First cabinet of Alex Salmond :
| Portfolio | Minister | Term |
| Cabinet secretaries ||||
| First Minister | The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Deputy First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing | Nicola Sturgeon MSP | 2007–2012 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth | John Swinney MSP | 2007–2016 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning | Fiona Hyslop MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Justice | Kenny MacAskill MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment | Richard Lochhead MSP | 2007–2016 |
| Also attending cabinet meetings ||||
| Permanent Secretary | John Elvidge | 2003–2010 |
| Minister for Parliamentary Business | Bruce Crawford MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Lord Advocate | The Rt Hon. Elish Angiolini QC | 2006–2011 |

### February 2009 to May 2011

Second cabinet of Alex Salmond :
| Portfolio | Minister | Term |
| Cabinet secretaries ||||
| First Minister | The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Deputy First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing | Nicola Sturgeon MSP | 2007–2012 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth | John Swinney MSP | 2007–2016 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning | Michael Russell MSP | 2009–2011 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Justice | Kenny MacAskill MSP | 2007–2014 |
| Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment | Richard Lochhead MSP | 2007–2016 |
| Also attending cabinet meetings ||||
| Permanent Secretary | Peter Housden | 2010–2015 |
| Minister for Parliamentary Business | Bruce Crawford MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Lord Advocate | The Rt Hon. Elish Angiolini QC | 2006–2011 |

#### Changes

* Fiona Hyslop is demoted from Cabinet and appointed Minister for Culture and External Affairs; Hyslop is replaced as Education Secretary by Michael Russell.
* John Elvidge stood down as the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government in June 2010 and was succeeded by Peter Housden.

## Junior Ministers

Junior ministers :
| Post | Minister | Term |
| Minister for Parliamentary Business | Bruce Crawford MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture | Linda Fabiani MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution | Mike Russell MSP | 2009 |
| Minister for Culture and External Affairs | Fiona Hyslop MSP | 2009–2011 |
| Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism | Jim Mather MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change | Stewart Stevenson MSP | 2007–2010 |
| Minister for Transport and Infrastructure | Keith Brown MSP | 2010–2011 |
| Minister for Schools and Skills | Maureen Watt MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Minister for Schools and Skills | Keith Brown MSP | 2009–2010 |
| Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning | Keith Brown MSP |
| Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning | Angela Constance MSP | 2010–2011 |
| Minister for Children and Early Years | Adam Ingram MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Minister for Public Health | Shona Robison MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Minister for Public Health and Sport | Shona Robison MSP | 2009–2011 |
| Minister for Communities and Sport | Stewart Maxwell MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Minister for Housing and Communities | Alex Neil MSP | 2009–2011 |
| Minister for Community Safety | Fergus Ewing MSP | 2007–2011 |
| Minister for Environment | Mike Russell MSP | 2007–2009 |
| Minister for Environment | Roseanna Cunningham MSP | 2009–2010 |
| Minister for Environment and Climate Change | Roseanna Cunningham MSP | 2010–2011 |

## Scottish Law Officers

Law officers :
| Post | Name | Term |
| Lord Advocate | The Right Hon. Elish Angiolini QC | 2007–2011 |
| Solicitor General for Scotland | The Right Hon. Frank Mulholland QC | 2007–2011 |