Humza Yousaf: A trailblazer in the top job who was never in control

Humza Yousaf was the first person from an ethnic minority background to be first minister of Scotland as well as the youngest, but he will be remembered for his shaky tenure in charge.

While he avoided being the shortest incumbent of the post, a title held by Labour’s Henry McLeish after he was in office for one year and 12 days between 2000 and 2001, Mr Yousaf had a tricky time in the top job in Scottish politics.

He was officially sworn in on March 29, 2023 after an SNP leadership election sparked when Nicola Sturgeon, who was the longest serving first minister, unexpectedly stepped down.

Almost as soon as he took on the role, he found out the SNP had been without auditors for months.

Also within days of him taking charge, Ms Sturgeon’s husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was arrested by police investigating the whereabouts of £600,000 of donations to the party.

Murrell was subsequently rearrested and charged in April 2024 in connection with the alleged embezzlement of funds.

Against this background of party difficulties, Mr Yousaf sought to put his own stamp on government, with his administration focused on key national “missions”, based firmly on the principles of equality, opportunity and community.

But for much of his time in charge he appeared to be reacting to events, rather than dictating them.

Perhaps ironically, it was his bid to take control that brought about his downfall: He abruptly ended the powersharing deal with the Scottish Greens before his party’s junior partners in office could hold a vote on whether to continue the arrangement.

After he terminated the Bute House Agreement with immediate effect, despite having previously described it as being “worth its weight in gold”, furious Greens accused Mr Yousaf of “political cowardice” and declared they would vote against him in a vote of no confidence.

That vote took place little over 13 months after Mr Yousaf had become Scotland’s sixth first minister.

He was the youngest person to hold the role, and the first from an ethnic minority background.

The son of immigrants, Mr Yousaf has spoken repeatedly about how his family had hoped he would become a doctor or a lawyer, but instead he chose to study politics at Glasgow University, joining the SNP in 2005.

In his early life, he crossed paths with current Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who is two years his senior and also attended the private Hutchesons’ Grammar School on Glasgow’s south side.

He began working in politics in 2009, first as a staffer for Bashir Ahmad, who was the first Muslim MSP, and then for both Alex Salmond and Ms Sturgeon.

Mr Yousaf was himself elected as an MSP in 2011, securing a regional list seat for Glasgow.

After a year on the backbenches, he joined the government in 2012 when Mr Salmond appointed him as external affairs and international development minister.

He later became transport minister under Ms Sturgeon – where he was on the periphery of announcing the ill-fated Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa ferries to be built at Ferguson Marine alongside the even more ill-fated former minister Derek Mackay, who would be drummed out of office after he was discovered sending messages to a 16-year-old boy.

Mr Yousaf joined the Scottish cabinet in 2018 as justice secretary, an appointment that came despite his own brush with the law in 2016 when he was caught driving without insurance.

A reshuffle following the 2021 Scottish election saw him become health secretary, with the appointment coming at time when the NHS was under immense pressure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

When Ms Sturgeon suddenly announced she was quitting as SNP leader and first minister in early 2023, Mr Yousaf was one of three candidates to throw his hat into the ring for the vacancy.

After a bruising internal leadership contest, he narrowly defeated the then finance secretary Kate Forbes for the post.

At the time, he said becoming first minister was the “honour of my life”, but it has also undoubtedly been a difficult period for him.

His time on the backbenches after his tenure as first minister has been punctuated by his strident opposition to the Israeli Government’s ongoing action in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Mr Yousaf’s wife Nadia – an SNP councillor in Dundee – has family in Gaza and her parents were trapped in the territory in the early days of Israeli reprisals.

He has also pitted himself against the world’s richest man, Elon Musk – who finds himself closer to power than ever and has the ear of President-elect Donald Trump – who has described the former first minister as a “racist”.

Mr Yousaf has said he is considering legal action against Mr Musk for the comments. He in turn as described Mr Musk as “one of the most dangerous men on the planet”.