Prime Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, Resigns Amid No Confidence Vote

The Prime Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, resigned days before a vote of no confidence in his government.

Youssef said that he will remain in the role of prime minister (principal) until a replacement is chosen.

Hamza Harun Yousef is a young British Muslim, coming from a father from Pakistan and a mother from Kenya, who immigrated to Britain in the sixties of the last century.

He was educated at an independent school in Glasgow, where he studied politics at the University of Glasgow and graduated with a Masters degree in 2007. While at the university, Youssef was president of The university’s Muslim Students’ Union, as well as being prominently involved in student politics and student council.

Hamza Yousaf’s resignation comes weeks after his twenty-ninth birthday, and just over a year after taking up the role of First Minister of Scotland, as he is the youngest to hold this high position in the country’s history.

His resignation follows a steady rise through the ranks of the Scottish National Party, since becoming a member of the Scottish Parliament for the first time in 2011.

A year after winning the seat, he was appointed Minister for Europe and International Development, a position he held for almost four years.

He then enjoyed a series of promotions, becoming Minister of Transport in 2016, Minister of Justice in 2019, and Minister of Health in 2021.

When former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon announced that she was retiring in 2023, Youssef was seen as the party’s candidate to succeed her.

When he took office, he was the first leader of an ethnic minority in a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major party in the United Kingdom.

It started with the Scottish National Party’s decision to remove a key target from its climate change programme, which led to the Scottish Greens leaving the government coalition and the collapse of the power-sharing agreement, which ‘ leaving Youssef at the head of a minority government without clear information. friends

On April 18, the Scottish government announced that it would suspend its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030, for economic purposes.

The end of the power-sharing agreement between the two sides angered the Green Party, which led them to support a motion of confidence in the Prime Minister submitted by the Scottish Conservative Party, while the Scottish Labor Party applied for a withdrawal of confidence. the government as a whole.

Youssef was threatened by two no-confidence motions, which will be voted on later this week (it was expected to be next Wednesday), and without obtaining the necessary majority, the Prime Minister ended resignation and resignation. party leader.

The Scottish National Party has been rocked by controversy following a campaign finance scandal and divisions over transgender rights.

Youssef told reporters on Monday: “After spending the weekend thinking about what is best for my party, the government and the country I lead, I have decided that our relationship cannot be repaired and make the political division but with someone else at the helm. of power.”

He said: “I have told the national secretary of the SNP that I intend to stand down as party leader.”