Scotland’s parliament on Tuesday confirmed Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as first minister, the devolved nation’s youngest and the first Muslim leader of a government in western Europe.
Yousaf, 37, narrowly won a Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership battle on Monday to clinch the top job, vowing to rejuvenate the stalled pursuit of independence for Scotland.
He then secured the nominations of a majority of lawmakers in a vote Tuesday to become the new first minister and will be formally sworn in on Wednesday.
Ahead of the confirmatory vote, Yousaf acknowledged he had “some very big shoes to fill” succeeding Sturgeon but vowed to “continue to ensure that Scotland is a positive, progressive voice on the world stage”.
“I will also argue vigorously for independence,” he added afterwards, pledging in the meantime “to make the best possible use of this parliament’s existing powers”.
Yousaf promised Monday to be “the generation that delivers independence for Scotland,” and said he would ask London promptly to allow another vote.
But the UK government’s Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said he hoped the new SNP leader would “put his obsession with independence aside”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated Yousaf later Tuesday in their first conversation since the latter’s win.
‘Welcoming’
“I’m looking forward to working with him to deliver on the priorities that matter most to people across Scotland,” Sunak tweeted.
Yousaf called the discussion “constructive” but in a thinly veiled reference to holding another referendum, said he “also made clear that I expect the democratic wishes of Scotland’s people and Parliament to be respected”.
Earlier, Sturgeon sent her formal letter of resignation to King Charles III, and left the first minister’s official residence in Edinburgh for the last time.
She later tweeted that she wishes longtime ally Yousaf “every success and will be willing him on every step of the way”.
He will be sworn into the role Wednesday following formal approval from the king — whom he wants to dislodge in favour of an elected head of state for Scotland.
SNP leaders took pride in Scotland becoming the first democracy in western Europe to appoint a Muslim as leader.
“I think what it says about the UK is that we are a welcoming group of nations, and Scotland in particular,” Stephen Flynn, the party’s leader in the UK parliament, told AFP.
