First Salmond government

First Salmond government
5th government of Scotland
2007–2011
Date formed	17 May 2007
Date dissolved	19 May 2011
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
First Minister	Alex Salmond
First Minister's history	2007–2014
Deputy First Minister	Nicola Sturgeon
Total no. of members	16
Member parties	Scottish National Party
Status in legislature	Minority 47 / 129 (36%)
Opposition party	Scottish Labour Party
Opposition leader	Jack McConnell (2007) Cathy Jamieson (2007) Wendy Alexander (2007-08) Cathy Jamieson (2008) Iain Gray (2008-11)
History
Election	2007 general election
Outgoing election	2011 general election
Legislature term	3rd Scottish Parliament
Predecessor	Second McConnell government
Successor	Second Salmond government

The first Salmond government, which was sworn in on 17 May 2007 at the start of the 3rd Scottish Parliament, was an SNP 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. The SNP and Scottish Greens signed an agreement where the Greens supported SNP ministerial appointments, but did not offer support for any confidence or budget votes ("confidence and supply").^[1] SNP leader, Alex Salmond was elected First Minister on 16 May 2007; he was officially sworn in and his slate of ministerial appointments were ratified by the Scottish Parliament the following day.

This article is part of a series about Alex Salmond
Political positions Scottish independence Social nationalism Electoral History MP for Banff and Buchan MSP for Banff and Buchan MSP for Aberdeenshire East MP for Gordon Leader of the SNP (1990–2000; 2004–2014) 1990 leadership election 1997 referendum 1999 election 2004 leadership election First Minister of Scotland (2007–2014) Premiership International visits First Ministry 2007 election Free Tuition Fees Abdelbaset al-Megrahi's Release Glasgow Airport attack Second Ministry 2011 election 2014 European election 2014 referendum Resignation Post Premiership Sexual harassment scandal Leader of the Alba Party (2021–2024) 2021 election Indyref2 UK general elections 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2015 2017
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Due to the agreement signed with the Greens, Salmond's investiture vote was successful despite only having 47 of 129 seats in the Parliament. The vote was 49–46, with the SNP and Greens voting in favour and the 46 Scottish Labour MSPs voting against, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstaining.^[2]

On 16 May 2007, a few hours after Salmond was sworn in by parliament, he announced his intention to form a government composed of five cabinet secretaries and ten junior ministers.^[3] Furthermore, the Lord Advocate lost her seat in the cabinet.^[4]

A cabinet reshuffle took place in February 2009.^[5]

First cabinet of Alex Salmond^[6]

Portfolio	Portrait	Minister	Term
Cabinet secretaries
First Minister		The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP	2007–2014
Deputy First Minister		Nicola Sturgeon MSP	2007–2014
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing			2007–2012
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth		John Swinney MSP	2007–2016
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning		Fiona Hyslop MSP	2007–2009
Cabinet Secretary for Justice		Kenny MacAskill MSP	2007–2014
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment		Richard Lochhead MSP	2007–2016
Also attending cabinet meetings
Permanent Secretary		John Elvidge	2003–2010
Minister for Parliamentary Business		Bruce Crawford MSP	2007–2011
Lord Advocate		The Rt Hon. Elish Angiolini QC	2006–2011

Second cabinet of Alex Salmond^[6]

Portfolio	Portrait	Minister	Term
Cabinet secretaries
First Minister		The Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP	2007–2014
Deputy First Minister		Nicola Sturgeon MSP	2007–2014
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing			2007–2012
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth		John Swinney MSP	2007–2016
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning		Michael Russell MSP	2009–2011
Cabinet Secretary for Justice		Kenny MacAskill MSP	2007–2014
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment		Richard Lochhead MSP	2007–2016
Also attending cabinet meetings
Permanent Secretary		Peter Housden	2010–2015
Minister for Parliamentary Business		Bruce Crawford MSP	2007–2011
Lord Advocate		The Rt Hon. Elish Angiolini QC	2006–2011

• Fiona Hyslop is demoted from Cabinet and appointed Minister for Culture and External Affairs; Hyslop is replaced as Education Secretary by Michael Russell.
• John Elvidge stood down as the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government in June 2010 and was succeeded by Peter Housden.