Who is John Swinney? Veteran MSP to become SNP leader and First Minister - age, education & family explained

John Swinney has officially become the SNP’s new leader, after would-be rival Graeme McCormick agreed not to stand.

The veteran MSP will likely become Scotland’s next first minister, after he emerged as the only candidate to become the SNP’s new leader by the party’s noon deadline on Monday, NationalWorld’s sister site the Scotsman reported. After nominations for the post closed, the former deputy first minister was confirmed as the only person to put themselves forward to succeed Humza Yousaf.

Swinney will now face a vote at the Scottish Parliament Holyrood later this week, where it is likely he will become the country’s seventh first minister. It comes just a week after Yousaf announced he was stepping down as both SNP leader and Scottish First Minister, after his decision to tear up his party’s power-sharing deal with the Greens at Holyrood left him facing a vote of confidence.

Over the weekend, McCormick, a veteran SNP activist, had threatened to derail Swinney’s bid to take over the party, after collecting signatures of support at an independence march in Glasgow. In a bizarre situation, McCormick, who does not hold elected office, could have been voted in as SNP leader, while being unable to become First Minister. However, following a “lengthy and fruitful conversation” between the pair, he agreed not to put his hat in the ring, the Scotsman reported.

Has John Swinney been SNP leader before?

This first foray into the leadership for the former Tayside North MP, the Scotsman explained. In September 2000, he took over as leader following the departure of Alex Salmond – the first time – having served as his deputy for two years previously.

His tenure would not be a happy one. The party’s fortunes would sink, returning just five MPs at the 2001 Westminster election and 22 MSPs in the 2003 Holyrood vote. After seeing off an attempt to oust him by a party activist, Swinney stepped down voluntarily after a poor showing at the 2004 European elections.

Speaking about Swinney, elections guru Prof John Curtice said: “Some of us remember John Swinney when he was SNP leader, and he wasn't really that good at it. John as a deputy leader is absolutely brilliant because he could say nothing in more words than anybody else could ever string together. Fantastic at it. But what you need from a leader is an ability to say something really resonant in as few words as possible, and that's not John's skill.”

Who is John Swinney?

Swinney was born and grew up in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. He joined the SNP in 1979 when he was just 15 years old and he has held numerous posts within the party both at local and national level, including national secretary, publicity vice-convener and deputy leader. He also ran the party’s youth wing before becoming party secretary at the age of 22. Before becoming a politician in 1997, Swinney worked as strategic planning principal in Scottish Amicable, and was a business and economic consultant for five years, perhaps paving the way for his stint as finance secretary.

Swinney was elected as an MP from 1997 to 2001, and was deputy leader of the party from 1998 to 2000 before his first foray as leader of the nationalists. He was brought back by Alec Salmond to serve as finance secretary when the SNP took power in 2007.

He served in the role for the entirety of Salmond’s tenure, before being appointed deputy first minister by Nicola Sturgeon when she took over. Over the following nine years, the Perthshire North MSP occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, Covid-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Kate Forbes during her maternity leave.

During his time as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy, he cemented his reputation as a dogged defender of his boss, as well as an SNP stalwart.

But it was not without its challenges, as he faced two close no confidence votes in Holyrood, first over the handling of school exams during the pandemic, and his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Salmond.

The election of Humza Yousaf as First Minister saw Swinney call time on his career in Cabinet, but the urging of colleagues may be enough to see him seek the top job. Swinney, a Catholic, has described himself as “a man of deep Christian faith”.

What is John Swinney’s education?

Swinney went to Forrester High School, a state school in the west of the city. After school he went to Edinburgh University and graduated in 1986 with appropriately enough an MA (Hons) in politics.

How old is John Swinney?

Swinney was born in Edinburgh in April 1964, so he has just turned 60 years old.

Who is John Swinney’s family?

Swinney is married to wife Elizabeth Quigley, a BBC Scotland news reporter, and has three children. He lives in his constituency of Perthshire North. When speaking to the media only hours after Yousaf’s resignation speech, Swinney said he would need to consider his “precious” family before making any decisions.

He was previously married to Lorna King between 1991 and 1998. The couple had two children, Judith and Stuart, but the couple divorced after the Daily Record reporter King had had an affair with a married nursery teacher.

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.