First Salmond government

First Salmond government
5th devolved government of Scotland
2007–2011
300x200px
Date formed	16 May 2007
Date dissolved	18 May 2011
People and organisations
Head of government	Alex Salmond
Head of state	Elizabeth II
Total number of ministers	16
Member party	Scottish National Party
Status in legislature	Minority
History
Election(s)	2007
Outgoing election	2011
Legislature term(s)	3rd Scottish Parliament
Predecessor	Second McConnell government
Successor	Second Salmond government

The first meeting of the Salmond government, on 22 May 2007

The first Salmond government, which was sworn in on 16 May 2007 at the start of the 3rd Scottish Parliament, was a Scottish National Party minority government.

Having won the largest number of seats in the general election (47 of 129) the SNP sought to form a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. When those talks failed, the SNP chose to form a one-party minority government, with confidence and supply support from the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Conservative Party. SNP leader Alex Salmond was elected first minister on 16 May 2007; his slate of ministerial appointments were ratified by the Scottish Parliament the following day.

History

On 16 May 2007, a few hours after Salmond was sworn in by parliament, he announced a his intention to form a government composed of five cabinet secretaries and ten junior ministers. Furthermore, the Lord Advocate lost her seat in the cabinet.

A cabinet reshuffle took place in February 2009.

List of ministers

Cabinet
Post	Minister	Term
First Minister	The Rt Hon. Alex Salmond MSP	2007–2011
Deputy First Minister Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing	Nicola Sturgeon MSP	2007–2011
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth	John Swinney MSP	2007–2011
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning	Fiona Hyslop MSP	2007–2009
	Michael Russell MSP	2009–2011
Cabinet Secretary for Justice	Kenny MacAskill MSP	2007–2011
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment	Richard Lochhead MSP	2007–2011

Junior ministers
Post	Minister	Term
Minister for Parliamentary Business	Bruce Crawford MSP	2007–2011
Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture	Linda Fabiani MSP	2007–2009
Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution	Mike Russell MSP	2009
Minister for Culture and External Affairs	Fiona Hyslop MSP	2009–2011
Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism	Jim Mather MSP	2007–2011
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change	Stewart Stevenson MSP	2007–2010
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure	Keith Brown MSP	2010–2011
Minister for Schools and Skills	Maureen Watt MSP	2007–2009
	Keith Brown MSP	2009–2010
Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning
	Angela Constance MSP	2010–2011
Minister for Children and Early Years	Adam Ingram MSP	2007–2011
Minister for Public Health	Shona Robison MSP	2007–2009
Minister for Public Health and Sport		2009–2011
Minister for Communities and Sport	Stewart Maxwell MSP	2007–2009
Minister for Housing and Communities	Alex Neil MSP	2009–2011
Minister for Community Safety	Fergus Ewing MSP	2007–2011
Minister for Environment	Mike Russell MSP	2007–2009
	Roseanna Cunningham MSP	2009–2010
Minister for Environment and Climate Change		2010–2011

Law officers
Post	Name	Term
Lord Advocate	The Right Hon. Elish Angiolini QC	2007–2011
Solicitor General for Scotland	The Right Hon. Frank Mulholland QC	2007–2011