Humza Yousaf
Humza Yousaf is the former First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the SNP, currently serving as Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow Pollok constituency.
He was the first Muslim leader of a Western democracy, the youngest person to be appointed as First Minister, as well as the first Person of Colour to hold the Office.
Born and raised in Glasgow, he studied politics at the University of Glasgow, before working as a parliamentary assistant for the late Bashir Ahmad MSP, the first Muslim elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2007.
Humza was first elected as an MSP for the Glasgow region in May 2011, aged only 26, and became the youngest Minister ever appointed to the Scottish Government.
He was also the first Minister from an ethnic minority background, when he was appointed as Minister for External Affairs and International Development in 2012.
Since then, he served as a Minister for Europe, Transport, as well as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and most recently for Health & Social Care.
In 2016, he was elected to serve Glasgow Pollok – becoming the first ethnic minority Member of the Scottish Parliament to be directly elected to a constituency.
Outside of politics, Humza has been involved in community work, from youth organisations to charity fundraising for most of his life.
He also volunteered for community radio for 12 years and on a charitable project providing food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
On a personal note, Humza is a Celtic FC fan who enjoys watching football, with aspirations to start playing again!
Glasgow Pollok
Glasgow is the City I was born in and raised, and it is the honour of my life to represent the people of Glasgow Pollok. The constituency is incredibly diverse, and each community I represent is unique.
I have often been asked why I stood for election. It was never something I planned. Although I studied Politics at Glasgow University, I always thought I would do political research or some other work that involved being in the background – where I was always most comfortable. And that is where I started my political career as the Office Manager for Bashir Ahmad MSP, the first ethnic minority MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament.
Former First Minister
Being the First Minister of the country I love, the country I am raising my family in, and the only country I will ever call home was a phenomenal honour.
As a young Muslim boy, born and raised in Scotland, I could never have dreamt that one day I would have the privilege of leading my country – people who looked like me, were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading governments when I was younger.
I have been blessed to serve in Government as a Minister, in various roles, for almost 12 years. I am keen to use that experience to help our future leaders of tomorrow.
During my time as First Minister, I am proud to have delivered a council tax freeze for households in every local authority in Scotland, invested record amounts in our National Health Service, removed peak fares on our railways, and approved plans for Europe’s largest floating offshore windfarm. And through our actions, an estimated 100,000 children are expected to be kept out of poverty this year.
I was also the first Leader of a European Government to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as well as calling for all hostages to be released and an end to UK arm sales to Israel.
From the backbenches of the Scottish parliament, I will continue to champion the rights and the voices of those who are often not heard, be they at home or abroad.
