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 2007 Scottish Parliament 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. 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 SalmondPortfolioPortraitMinisterTermCabinet secretariesFirst MinisterAlex Salmond 2007–2014Deputy First MinisterNicola Sturgeon 2007–2014Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing2007–2012Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable GrowthJohn Swinney 2007–2016Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong LearningFiona Hyslop 2007–2009Cabinet Secretary for JusticeKenny MacAskill 2007–2014Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentRichard Lochhead 2007–2016Also attending cabinet meetingsPermanent SecretaryJohn Elvidge2003–2010Minister for Parliamentary BusinessBruce Crawford 2007–2011Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC2006–2011
February 2009 to May 2011 + Second cabinet of Alex SalmondPortfolioPortraitMinisterTermCabinet secretariesFirst MinisterAlex Salmond 2007–2014Deputy First MinisterNicola Sturgeon 2007–2014Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing2007–2012Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable GrowthJohn Swinney 2007–2016Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong LearningMichael Russell 2009–2011Cabinet Secretary for JusticeKenny MacAskill 2007–2014Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentRichard Lochhead 2007–2016Also attending cabinet meetingsPermanent SecretaryPeter Housden2010–2015Minister for Parliamentary BusinessBruce Crawford 2007–2011Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini QC2006–2011
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 PostMinisterTermMinister for Parliamentary BusinessBruce Crawford MSP 2007–2011Minister for Europe, External Affairs and CultureLinda Fabiani MSP 2007–2009Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the ConstitutionMike Russell MSP 2009Minister for Culture and External AffairsFiona Hyslop MSP 2009–2011Minister for Enterprise, Energy and TourismJim Mather MSP 2007–2011Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate ChangeStewart Stevenson MSP 2007–2010Minister for Transport and InfrastructureKeith Brown MSP 2010–2011Minister for Schools and SkillsMaureen Watt MSP 2007–2009Keith Brown MSP 2009–2010Minister for Skills and Lifelong LearningAngela Constance MSP 2010–2011Minister for Children and Early YearsAdam Ingram MSP 2007–2011Minister for Public HealthShona Robison MSP 2007–2009Minister for Public Health and Sport2009–2011Minister for Communities and SportStewart Maxwell MSP 2007–2009Minister for Housing and CommunitiesAlex Neil MSP 2009–2011Minister for Community SafetyFergus Ewing MSP 2007–2011Minister for EnvironmentMike Russell MSP 2007–2009Roseanna Cunningham MSP 2009–2010Minister for Environment and Climate Change2010–2011
Scottish Law Officers Law officersPost Name Term Lord AdvocateThe Right Hon. Elish Angiolini QC 2007–2011 Solicitor General for ScotlandThe Right Hon. Frank Mulholland QC 2007–2011
References