1. Humza Haroon Yousaf is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party from March 2023 to May 2024.
79 Facts About Humza Yousaf
1. 2.
Humza Yousaf served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and then as health secretary from 2021 to 2023.
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Humza Yousaf has been Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, having previously been a regional MSP for Glasgow from 2011 to 2016.
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Humza Yousaf supported Sturgeon's successful leadership bid in 2014 and after she was sworn in as first minister, he was appointed as Europe minister before being appointed Minister for Transport and the Islands in 2016.
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Humza Yousaf introduced a controversial hate-speech bill to parliament which ultimately became law as the Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021.
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Humza Yousaf was appointed first minister on 29 March 2023, becoming the youngest person, the first Scottish Asian, and the first Muslim to serve in office.
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Humza Yousaf was sworn into the Privy Council in May 2023.
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Humza Yousaf formally resigned on 7 May 2024 and was succeeded by John Swinney, becoming the second-shortest-serving first minister, after Henry McLeish.
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Humza Yousaf was born on 7 April 1985 in Rutherglen Maternity Hospital in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire.
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Humza Yousaf is a son of first-generation Pakistani Punjabi Muslim Rajput immigrants: his father Mian Muzaffar Yousaf Arain was born in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan, and emigrated from the city with his family in the 1960s, eventually working as an accountant.
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Humza Yousaf's mother, Shaaista Bhutta, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to a family of Pakistani-Punjabi descent.
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Humza Yousaf was one of two ethnic-minority pupils to attend his primary school.
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Humza Yousaf studied politics at the University of Glasgow where he was President of the Glasgow University Muslim Students Association.
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Humza Yousaf graduated in 2007 with a Master of Arts.
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From an early age, Humza Yousaf was involved in community work, ranging from youth organisations to charity fundraising.
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Humza Yousaf was the volunteer media spokesperson for the charity Islamic Relief, worked for community radio for twelve years and on a project which provided food packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
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Humza Yousaf joined the Scottish National Party in 2005, while studying at Glasgow university.
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Humza Yousaf started campaigning extensively for the SNP, including for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, which resulted in the first SNP government in Scotland and Yousaf's first job in the Scottish parliament.
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In 2006, Humza Yousaf worked in an O2 call centre, before working as a parliamentary assistant for Bashir Ahmad, from Ahmad's election as Scotland's first Muslim MSP in 2007 until Ahmad's death two years later.
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Humza Yousaf then worked as parliamentary assistant for a few other MSPs including Anne McLaughlin, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, who was then First Minister.
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In 2008, while working as an aide, Humza Yousaf partook of the International Visitor Leadership Program, a professional exchange run by the United States Department of State.
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Humza Yousaf was awarded the "Future Force of Politics" at the Young Scottish Minority Ethnic Awards in 2009, which was presented to him in Glasgow City Chambers.
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Humza Yousaf was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region in the 2011 election.
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Humza Yousaf served on the SNP's backbenches and was a member of the parliament's justice and public audit committees.
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On 25 May 2011, Humza Yousaf was appointed as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister, remaining in this post until 4 September 2012.
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Humza Yousaf was the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to be appointed as a minister to the Scottish Government.
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Humza Yousaf promoted Yousaf to the Scottish cabinet to serve as Cabinet Secretary for Justice, succeeding Michael Matheson.
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Humza Yousaf added that the children in question had been hospitalised for other reasons.
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Humza Yousaf clarified his statement and apologised for "any undue alarm".
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The Scottish Government was accused of being 'missing in action' after it emerged that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Humza Yousaf were all on holiday.
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In September 2021, the average waiting time for an ambulance in Scotland soared to six hours and Humza Yousaf urged the public to "think twice" before they called 999.
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Humza Yousaf committed to challenging the UK Government over its decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform Bill and stated he wanted to increase support for Scottish independence before delivering a referendum.
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Humza Yousaf said he was not "wedded" with using the 2024 United Kingdom general election as a de facto referendum on Scottish independence and that one of the issues would be the inability for 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to vote.
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Humza Yousaf reaffirmed his commitment to defend the Scottish Parliament against the UK Government's Section 35 order, which aims to block the gender reform bill.
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Humza Yousaf added that he could not pretend the bill had not "caused some division" within his party and stated he was "keen to work with those who have got real concerns".
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Humza Yousaf said at the time that he was meeting the Pakistani consul to discuss the case of a Scotsman facing the death penalty for blasphemy.
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Humza Yousaf stated his support for the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, while his opponents Kate Forbes and Ash Regan opposed it.
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Humza Yousaf accepted the leadership at an event at Murrayfield Stadium where he promised to lead the party in the interest of all its members.
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Humza Yousaf was sworn in as First Minister of Scotland on 29 March 2023, after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III, becoming the youngest person and the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to hold the office since it was created in 1999.
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Humza Yousaf worked to challenge the UK Government's section 35 order of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
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In June 2023, Humza Yousaf launched the fourth Building a New Scotland paper which focused on the constitution of an independent Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf declared that there would be a written constitution for an independent Scotland, claiming that such a constitution would set a benchmark in which no future Scottish Government could fall short of as it would be a constitution enshrined into Scots law.
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Humza Yousaf declared that the government had placed a commitment to a constitution that gave the population "the right to access a system of healthcare free at the point of need, as well as rules on land ownership and environmental provisions".
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On 27 July 2023, Humza Yousaf launched the fifth paper in the Building a New Scotland series entitled Citizenship in an independent Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf entered office amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.
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Humza Yousaf expressed support for the introduction of the deposit return scheme, but not in its current form, suggesting it should exclude small businesses.
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Humza Yousaf emphasised the need for a wellbeing economy and has proposed introducing a new wealth tax to raise money for more welfare benefits.
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Humza Yousaf argued that "more radical approaches are needed to tackle drug deaths and addiction" in Scotland on the backdrop of high levels of drug related deaths, despite a decline.
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Humza Yousaf urged the UK Government to examine the evidence surrounding drug rehabilitation rooms and to introduce such a facility in Glasgow, an area of Scotland's with considerably high drug related deaths and incidents.
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Humza Yousaf was challenged to review the long running Scottish Government policy of free university tuition, with University of Edinburgh vice-chancellor Peter Mathieson saying that allowing wealthier families to pay was "worthy of calm consideration".
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Humza Yousaf disputed calls for a review of the policy, saying that he was "very proud" of the SNP's long opposition to any fees for education in Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf highlighted his support and commitment to the continuation of free tuition in Scotland by saying he was "absolutely committed to ensuring we have free education" and that "university education should be on the ability to learn not the ability to pay".
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Humza Yousaf was largely criticised for saying he would stop the roll out of free school meals in Scotland in favour of a more targeted approach.
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Humza Yousaf was urged to reconsider this decision, with opponents arguing that the stop of the roll out would by a "betrayal" of children in Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf used his own daughter as an example, and argued as to whether his daughter should be entitled to free school meals considering Humza Yousaf's high salary as First Minister of Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf claimed that it was the intention of the Scottish Government to "see every school in Scotland become part of the scheme in the next three to five years" to promote and improve reading in Scottish schools.
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In September 2023, Humza Yousaf launched his first Programme for Government.
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Humza Yousaf entered office as First Minister on the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling that the Scottish Government does not have the power to legislate for another referendum on Scottish independence.
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In December 2023, Humza Yousaf met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan without UK officials, leading Foreign Secretary David Cameron to issue a warning, threatening to withdraw FCDO support for Scottish ministers due to a breach of protocol.
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Humza Yousaf declared his desire to set up a permanent Scottish Government envoy to the European Union in Brussels to "aid the cause of independence".
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Humza Yousaf used the visit to Brussels to reiterate the SNP's position on the European Union and future membership should Scotland become independent, citing that a majority of Scottish voters voted to remain a member of the European Union in the 2016 referendum on UK membership of the European Union.
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Humza Yousaf told the BBC that there were in fact Ukrainian men in the building and that the group of women he had addressed the question to did not appear to take offence.
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Humza Yousaf highlighted that Scotland had welcomed more than 25,000 Ukrainian people since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
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Humza Yousaf said that it was important for countries in Europe and around the world to continue to pledge their support for Ukraine and assist the Ukrainian efforts in any way possible, and that following the war, that those countries help Ukraine to rebuild.
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Humza Yousaf thanked the Ukrainians who had settled in Scotland for their contributions to Scotland and said that Scotland would be their home for as long as possibly needed.
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Humza Yousaf announced his intention to resign as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland on 29 April 2024.
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At a event in Edinburgh in August 2024, Humza Yousaf admitted that he had made a mistake when he ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.
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In November 2024, the Daily Record reported that Humza Yousaf had submitted his application to be a candidate at the next Holyrood election, however a month later Humza Yousaf announced that, in fact, he would not seek re-election as an MSP in 2026.
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Humza Yousaf is a follower of his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, and is in favour of continuing her socially progressive policies.
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Humza Yousaf has supported the idea for holding a second referendum, often informally described as "indyref2".
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Humza Yousaf has raised concerns over using the 2024 United Kingdom general election as a de facto referendum as it would not allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote.
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In 2020, Humza Yousaf expressed support for increasing the racial diversity among top government positions in Scotland.
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Humza Yousaf voted in favour of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.
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Additionally, Humza Yousaf has vowed to secure the rights of the LGBT community in a written constitution if Scotland gains independence.
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On 24 June 2023, at an event at the Caird Hall in Dundee, Humza Yousaf restated the SNP's intention of using the next general election as a de facto referendum to demand Scottish independence.
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Humza Yousaf was married to former SNP worker Gail Lythgoe from 2010 to 2016.
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On 9 October 2023, Humza Yousaf announced that his wife's parents were "stuck" in the Gaza Strip following the Gaza war.
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On 17 July 2024, Humza Yousaf announced the birth of his daughter, Liyana Jenin Humza Yousaf.
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Humza Yousaf was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 17 May 2023 at Buckingham Palace.