Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands

Incumbent Mairi Gougeon since 20 May 2021
Scottish Government Scottish Cabinet
Style	Cabinet Secretary (within parliament) Rural Affairs Secretary (informal) Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary (outwith Scotland)
Member of	Scottish Parliament Scottish Cabinet
Reports to	Scottish Parliament
Seat	Edinburgh
Appointer	First Minister
Inaugural holder	Ross Finnie Minister for Rural Affairs
Formation	May 1999
Deputy	Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform
Salary	£118,511 per annum (2023) (including £67,662 MSP salary)

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Cùisean Dùthchail, Ath-leasachadh an Fhearainn agus nan Eilean), commonly referred to as the Rural Affairs Secretary (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire nan Cùisean Dùthchail), is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for rural Scotland and its islands, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, food and drink, and crofting. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform, Màiri McAllan.

The current Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands is Mairi Gougeon, who was appointed in May 2021.

History
Overview
- Responsibilities
- Public bodies
List of office holders
See also

History

The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Rural Affairs and renamed as the Minister for Rural Development in 2000 and again in 2001 as the Minister for the Environment and Rural Development. Following the 2007 election, the position of Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment was created, becoming the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment in a November 2014 reshuffle. Following the 2016 election, the position was the "Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity", but was again renamed to "Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy", with "connectivity" and Transport passing to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. In the third Sturgeon government, the role was re-styled to Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands. In the first Yusaf government, the role was re-styled to Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands.

Overview

Responsibilities

The Cabinet Secretary's responsibilities are agriculture and crofting, fisheries and aquaculture, food and drink, rural Scotland, forestry, animal health and welfare, and cross-government co-ordination on islands.

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands:

Crofting Commission
Food Standards Scotland
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
James Hutton Institute
Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland
Moredun Research Institute
Quality Meat Scotland
Scottish Agricultural Wages Board

List of office holders

Name		Entered office	Left office	Party
Minister for Rural Affairs
	Ross Finnie	19 May 1999	26 October 2000	Liberal Democrats	Donald Dewar
Minister for Rural Development
	Ross Finnie	26 October 2000	22 November 2001	Liberal Democrats	Henry McLeish
Minister for the Environment and Rural Development
	Ross Finnie	22 November 2001	17 May 2007	Liberal Democrats	Jack McConnell
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment
	Richard Lochhead	17 May 2007	21 November 2014	Scottish National Party	Alex Salmond
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment
	Richard Lochhead	21 November 2014	18 May 2016	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity
	Fergus Ewing	18 May 2016	26 June 2018	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy
	Fergus Ewing	26 June 2018	17 February 2020	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism
	Fergus Ewing	17 February 2020	20 May 2021	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands
	Mairi Gougeon	20 May 2021	29 March 2023	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
	Mairi Gougeon	29 March 2023	Incumbent	Scottish National Party	Humza Yousaf