John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023. He held various Scottish Cabinet roles under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004.
Born in Edinburgh, Swinney graduated with a MA in politics at the University of Edinburgh. He joined the SNP at a young age and quickly rose to prominence serving as the National Secretary from 1986 to 1992 and Depute Leader of the SNP from 1998 to 2000. Swinney served in the British House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001. He was elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament in 1999. After Alex Salmond resigned the party leadership in 2000, Swinney was elected Leader of the Scottish National Party in the ensuing leadership contest. He became Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. Swinney's leadership proved ineffectual, with a loss of one MP in 2001 and a further reduction to 27 MSPs in 2003 despite the Officegate scandal unseating previous First Minister Henry McLeish. However, the only parties to gain seats in that election were the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which, like the SNP, support independence. After an unsuccessful leadership challenge in 2003, Swinney stepped down following disappointing results in the 2004 European Parliament election with Salmond returning to the role in the subsequent 2004 leadership contest.
From 2004 to 2007, Swinney sat in the SNP's opposition backbench. In the 2007 Scottish election, the SNP won the highest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister of Scotland. Swinney served under Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth from 2007 to 2014. After Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Salmond, she appointed Swinney as Deputy First Minister of Scotland in 2014. He also served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, until that role was divided into two posts in the second Sturgeon government as a result of the expansion of the Scottish Parliament's financial powers; he was then appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in 2016, and then as Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery in 2021. On 25 May 2022, Swinney became the longest serving Deputy First Minister, surpassing the previous record which was held by Sturgeon. Swinney served as Acting Finance Secretary in addition to his position of Covid Recovery Secretary from July 2022 to March 2023, covering the duties of Kate Forbes during her period of maternity leave. In March 2023, Swinney announced his resignation as Deputy First Minister in response to Nicola Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister.
