Humza Yousaf has been elected as the SNP leader and Scotland‘s next first minister, succeeding Nicola Sturgeon. He was widely regarded as the SNP establishment’s preferred candidate, including Ms. Sturgeon herself.
Mr Yousaf received far more support from MSPs and MPs than his two opponents, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney predicting that Mr Yousaf would “complete our journey to independence.”
He is without a doubt the most experienced of the three potential leaders, having served in government since 2012 in positions such as justice secretary and transport minister.
His supporters say he is a polished communicator who is best placed to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens after what has been a deeply fractious leadership contest.
Mr Yousaf is a close ally of Ms Sturgeon and is widely regarded as the “continuity candidate,” seeking to carry on the work of the outgoing first minister.
He is the only one of the three candidates who has said they will go to court to challenge the UK government’s block on Ms Sturgeon’s contentious gender recognition reforms, arguing that independence can only be won if the party continues to push “progressive values.”
However, he has stated that he would only go to court if legal counsel indicated that a challenge could be successful.
Mr Yousaf has distanced himself from Ms Sturgeon’s plan to use the next election as a de facto referendum, stating that he would instead seek to build a “consistent majority” in favor of independence and that it “isn’t good enough to have polls that show support for independence at 50% or 51%.”
However, he has attempted to appease more agitated independence supporters by stating that he would consider calling a snap Holyrood election to gauge support for leaving the UK.
Mr Yousaf also denied that the party hierarchy was doing everything possible to ensure his victory in the leadership election, despite allegations that the shortened campaign was specifically designed to favor him.
And he has said he would be willing to listen to concerns over controversial policies such as proposals for a new national care service and the bottle return scheme.
Humza Yousaf, the first Muslim leader of a major UK party
When confirmed as Scotland’s first minister, the 37-year-old will become the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.
Mr Yousaf’s father is originally from Pakistan and emigrated to Scotland with his family in the 1960s, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya, and he has frequently spoken of racist abuse he has received.
After allegedly receiving threats at the start of the leadership contest, he was forced to call the police, and a 25-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were arrested and charged.
Mr Yousaf attended Glasgow’s Hutchesons’ Grammar private school, where he was two years older than Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
He briefly worked in a call centre after studying politics at Glasgow University before becoming a parliamentary assistant to SNP MSP Bashir Ahmad and later an aide to Alex Salmond.
Mr Yousaf was elected as a list MSP for Glasgow in 2011, and Mr Salmond promoted him to minister for Europe and international development the following year.
He became transport minister in 2016 after defeating Labour in Glasgow Pollok, making him the first ethnic minority candidate to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Yousaf faced the embarrassment of being fined £300 and had six penalty points added to his license six months after taking over the transport portfolio. He was stopped by police while driving his friend’s car without proper insurance.
He was also chastised for ScotRail’s performance after Abellio took over the contract to run the rail franchise, which eventually led to its nationalization.
Mr Yousaf was promoted once more in 2018 when Ms Sturgeon named him as the new Justice Secretary as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
However, his flagship hates crime bill was mired in controversy due to concerns that the new offense of “stirring up hatred” could have a significant impact on free speech.
According to critics, the legislation could result in libraries and bookstores being prosecuted for stocking contentious books, and the new law could also criminalize people for having private conversations in their own homes.
Former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars described the bill as “one of the most pernicious and dangerous pieces of legislation ever produced by any government in modern times in any part of the United Kingdom.”
It was eventually passed by MSPs in March 2021 after a series of changes were made but has still not become law.
Mr Yousaf was also chastised for tweeting his “disgust” at a video purportedly showing Rangers players using sectarian language, which later turned out to be a hoax.
Just hours before the ceiling collapsed at Broughty Ferry police station near Dundee, he dismissed concerns about the state of Scotland’s police buildings as “hyperbole.” Mr. Hamza Yousaf had recently relocated to town.
Within three weeks of taking over as health secretary in May 2021, Mr Yousaf apologized for causing “undue alarm” by falsely claiming that ten children had been hospitalized “due to Covid.”
He also famously fell off a knee scooter while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained while playing badminton in the Scottish Parliament.
When BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell tweeted a video of his tumble, Mr Humza Yousaf responded, “If anyone else had fallen over while on crutches, a knee scooter, or in a wheelchair, would your first instinct be to film it and tweet it out?”
His tenure as health secretary has been marked by rising hospital wait times, though Mr Humza Yousaf points out that these issues are not unique to Scotland, and that the country is the only part of the UK that has avoided NHS staff strikes.
Mr Yousaf’s supporters, who include the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn as well as Mr Swinney, point to his accomplishments, such as completing the Queensferry Crossing on time and on budget while in charge of transport and lowering crime rates while in charge of justice.
Mr Flynn said he thought Mr Humza Yousaf was best suited to deal with the country’s economic challenges, and he called his plan to expand childcare to one and two-year-olds a “real game-changer for both working families and the wider economy.”
