John Swinney

**John Ramsay Swinney** (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who is the First Minister of Scotland since 2024. He was the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023. He had several cabinet roles with First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has been a member of the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999.

Swinney was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004. In early May 2024, Swinney announced his candidacy for Leader of the Scottish National Party to replace resigning leader Humza Yousaf. He was elected party leader on 8 May 2024.

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office1**: Deputy First Minister of Scotland
- **firstminister1**: Nicola Sturgeon
- **term start1**: 21 November 2014
- **term end1**: 28 March 2023
- **predecessor1**: Nicola Sturgeon
- **successor1**: Shona Robison
- **office2**: Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy
- **termlabel2**: Acting
- **term start2**: 16 July 2022
- **term end2**: 28 March 2023
- **firstminister2**: Nicola Sturgeon
- **predecessor2**: Kate Forbes
- **successor2**: Shona Robison (Finance)
Neil Gray (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)
- **term start3**: 17 May 2007
- **term end3**: 18 May 2016
- **firstminister3**: Alex Salmond
Nicola Sturgeon
- **predecessor3**: Tom McCabe
- **office4**: Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery
- **term start4**: 20 May 2021
- **term end4**: 28 March 2023
- **firstminister4**: Nicola Sturgeon
- **predecessor4**: _Office established_
- **successor4**: _Office abolished_
- **office5**: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
- **term start5**: 18 May 2016
- **term end5**: 20 May 2021
- **firstminister5**: Nicola Sturgeon
- **successor5**: Shirley-Anne Somerville


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office7**: Scottish National Party#Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party, Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party
- **leader7**: Alex Salmond
- **term start7**: 25 August 1998
- **term end7**: 26 September 2000
- **predecessor7**: Allan Macartney
- **successor7**: Roseanna Cunningham


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **embed**: yes
- **office8**: Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Perthshire North (Scottish Parliament constituency), Perthshire North

- **majority8**: 3,336 (9.8%)
- **term start8**: 6 May 1999
- **predecessor8**: _Constituency established_
- **office9**: Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament
 for Tayside North (UK Parliament constituency), Tayside North
- **term start9**: 1 May 1997
- **term end9**: 14 May 2001
- **predecessor9**: Bill Walker (Scottish Conservative politician), Bill Walker
- **successor9**: Pete Wishart


## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: John Swinney
- **honorific-suffix**: Member of the Scottish Parliament, MSP
- **image**: John Swinney - First Minister (53720492021) (cropped).jpg
- **caption**: Official portrait, 2024
- **office**: First Minister of Scotland
- **term start**: 8 May 2024
- **monarch**: Charles III
- **deputy**: Kate Forbes
- **predecessor**: Humza Yousaf
- **office2**: Leader of the Scottish National Party
- **term start2**: 6 May 2024
- **1blankname2**: Depute
- **1namedata2**: Keith Brown (Scottish politician), Keith Brown
- **predecessor2**: Humza Yousaf
- **1blankname3**: Depute
- **1namedata3**: Roseanna Cunningham
- **term start3**: 26 September 2000
- **term end3**: 3 September 2004
- **predecessor3**: Alex Salmond
- **successor3**: Alex Salmond
- **birth place**: Edinburgh, Scotland
- **birthname**: John Ramsay Swinney
- **nationality**: Scottish people, Scottish
- **party**: Scottish National Party
- **relatives**: Tom Hunter (VC), Tom Hunter (uncle)
- **children**: 3
- **alma mater**: University of Edinburgh