Jakarta –
Humza Yousaf was elected chair of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and leader of Scotland’s devolved government. He replaced Nicolas Sturgeon.
Reported by AFP, Monday (27/3/2023) Yousaf captured 52 percent of the votes of SNP members. He felt like the ‘luckiest man in the world’ as he delivered his victory speech.
Humza Yousaf is Scotland’s youngest and first new leader from an ethnic minority background. He was tasked with reviving a faltering independence movement after Nicola Sturgeon’s long tenure.
Yousaf emerged victorious with 52 per cent of the Scottish National Party (SNP) preferential vote, following a divisive three-way leadership battle sparked by Sturgeon’s surprise resignation announcement last month.
He will be sworn in as first minister on Wednesday, becoming the first ethnic minority leader from a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major British party.
The 37-year-old will also become Scotland’s youngest ever leader, taking over the helm months after Rishi Sunak became Britain’s youngest prime minister in modern times when he entered Downing Street at the age of 42.
Yousaf vowed to continue to pursue the central policy of the SNP — independence for Scotland — that Sturgeon has championed since the party lost a 2014 referendum on the issue.
“We will be the generation that gives Scotland independence,” Yousaf said in his victory speech, adding in a subsequent interview that he would formally ask the UK government to allow another vote.
He added his ‘immediate priority’ was protecting Scots from Britain’s cost-of-living crisis and reforming public services.
“I will aim to lead Scotland and the interests of all our citizens, whatever your political allegiance,” Yousaf said.
(dec/idn)
