Nicola Sturgeon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicola Sturgeon
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| First Minister of Scotland | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2014 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Deputy | John Swinney |
| Preceded by | Alex Salmond |
| Leader of the Scottish National Party | |
| Assumed office 14 November 2014 |
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| President | Ian Hudghton |
| Deputy | Stewart Hosie Angus Robertson Keith Brown |
| Chairman | Derek Mackay Kirsten Oswald |
| Preceded by | Alex Salmond |
| Deputy First Minister of Scotland | |
| In office 17 May 2007 – 19 November 2014 |
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| First Minister | Alex Salmond |
| Preceded by | Nicol Stephen |
| Succeeded by | John Swinney |
| Leader of the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament |
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| Assumed office 14 November 2014 |
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| Deputy | John Swinney |
| Preceded by | Alex Salmond |
| In office 3 September 2004 – 3 May 2007 |
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| Deputy | Roseanna Cunningham |
| Preceded by | John Swinney |
| Succeeded by | Alex Salmond |
| Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities | |
| In office 5 September 2012 – 19 November 2014 |
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| First Minister | Alex Salmond |
| Preceded by | Alex Neil |
| Succeeded by | Keith Brown |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing | |
| In office 17 May 2007 – 5 September 2012 |
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| First Minister | Alex Salmond |
| Preceded by | Andy Kerr |
| Succeeded by | Alex Neil |
| Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party |
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| In office 3 September 2004 – 14 November 2014 |
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| Leader | Alex Salmond |
| Preceded by | Roseanna Cunningham |
| Succeeded by | Stewart Hosie |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Southside Glasgow Govan (2007-2011) |
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| Assumed office 3 May 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Gordon Jackson |
| Majority | 9,593 (38.5%) |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow |
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| In office 6 May 1999 – 3 May 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Bob Doris |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon
19 July 1970 Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Peter Murrell (m. 2010)
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| Parents |
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| Residence | Bute House |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Profession | Solicitor |
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since November 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. Sturgeon has been a member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 (known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011).
A law graduate of the University of Glasgow, Sturgeon worked as a solicitor in Glasgow. After being elected to the Scottish Parliament, she served successively as the SNP's shadow minister for education, health, and justice. In 2004 she announced that she would stand as a candidate for the leadership of the SNP following the resignation of John Swinney. However, she later withdrew from the contest in favour of Alex Salmond, standing instead as depute (deputy) leader on a joint ticket with Salmond.
Both were subsequently elected, and as Salmond was still an MP in the House of Commons, Sturgeon led the SNP in the Scottish Parliament from 2004 to 2007. The SNP won the highest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament in the 2007 election and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister. He appointed Sturgeon as Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. She was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities in 2012.
Following the defeat of the "Yes" campaign in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Salmond announced that he would be resigning as party leader at the SNP party conference that November, and would resign as First Minister after a new leader was chosen. No one else was nominated for the post by the time nominations closed, leaving Sturgeon to take the party leadership unopposed at the SNP's annual conference. She was formally elected to succeed Salmond as First Minister on 19 November.
Forbes magazine ranked Sturgeon as the 50th most powerful woman in the world in 2016 and 2nd in the United Kingdom. In 2015, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour assessed Sturgeon to be the most powerful and influential woman in the United Kingdom.
Images for kids
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Sturgeon (front right) with Alex Salmond and the rest of the Scottish Government cabinet following election in 2011
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Sturgeon (top right) seated with the 2007–2011 Scottish Cabinet following the SNP victory in the 2007 election
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US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Nicola Sturgeon at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on 10 June 2015
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Sturgeon meets diplomats from 27 European Union countries at Bute House to address the rights and conditions of EU nationals resident in Scotland following the EU referendum result
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Sturgeon welcomes British Prime Minister Theresa May to Bute House, 2016
