Humza Yousaf — Immigrant-Origin Politician Who Is First-Muslim and Youngest To Lead Scotland

Former MP and Minister Humza Yousaf dominated the race for the presidency of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and thus became the first Muslim to be first minister of the country after voting in Parliament.

The first Muslim first minister in Western Europe, this title will be borne by politician Humza Yousaf of Pakistani origins, who pledges to focus on addressing the cost-of-living crisis, ending divisions within the party, and striving again for independence.

Within a decade, the name of Humza Yousaf (37 years old) has become an important figure in the Scottish political equation, especially after he held a number of important ministerial positions, as well as his work in the team of two of the most important leaders of Scotland during the current century, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond.

It is noteworthy that Yousaf joined the SNP in 2005 and was also the first minister from South Asia and the first Muslim minister in the cabinet to serve in the Scottish government.

 

First Muslim to Lead Scotland

Humza Yousaf began his journey with politics in Scotland at a young age when he was not more than twenty years old when he decided to join the SNP to start a career that culminated in his recent selection as the leader of the party.

Yousaf won during the voting process that took place in Parliament, on March 28, 2023, by a majority of 71 votes, which came a day after he was elected leader of the ruling SNP, succeeding Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned last month from the post of the first minister as well as the party leadership.

With the arrival of Yousaf, a 37-year-old of Pakistani origin, to the post of First Minister of Scotland, Yousaf became the first Muslim to lead a major party in Scotland and the first Muslim and immigrant from an ethnic minority to lead a devolved government in the U.K.

Yousaf was confirmed as leader of the ruling SNP on March 27, 2023, after a tense six-week contest. The three candidates mostly bashed each other’s record in a series of personal attacks, exposing huge divisions in the ruling party over politics and the stalled independence drive.

Yousaf won the majority of the party’s votes, ahead of Finance Minister Kate Forbes and former Community Safety Secretary Ash Regan.

In the first round of voting, Yousaf received 48.2% of the vote, followed by Forbes, who got 40.7%, and Regan, with 11.1%, according to figures published by the SNP.

Yousaf won the second round after securing 26,032 votes (52.1%), compared to 23,890 votes (47.9%) for his conservative rival, Forbes.

“As immigrants, they (his family) could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of becoming Scotland’s next first minister,” Yousaf said after winning the vote.

Yousaf described himself as the happiest person in the world and said that this success was the culmination of a decision by his grandparents, who came to the U.K. on a long journey from the Pakistani province of Punjab, barely knowing English.

He published a photo on his official account on Twitter, which he documented on the first night after his election as first minister, where he joined his family at breakfast, and he also appeared praying with his family at his home.

 

His Political Career

Humza Yousaf was born in Glasgow on April 7, 1985, to a father of Punjabi-Pakistani descent and a Kenyan mother.

Yousaf was privately educated at Hutchesons School in Glasgow and studied politics at the University of Glasgow.

While studying at university, Yousaf joined the SNP in 2005. He was also president of the Muslim Students’ Association and participated in the Student Council.

Yousaf is a father of one daughter and married to a Muslim nurse. He lives with his family in Glasgow.

After graduating, Yousaf worked briefly in a call center before becoming in 2007 assistant to MP Bashir Ahmed, the first Muslim MP in the Scottish Parliament.

After the death of MP Ahmed in 2009, Yousaf worked as an aide to prominent politician Alex Salmond, who later became First Minister of Scotland (2007-2014).

In May 2011, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow region at 26 years old, becoming at that time the youngest deputy elected to the Scottish Parliament. Since then, he has climbed the political ladder and gained a good reputation.

In 2012, Alex Salmond appointed Yousaf as Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, responsible for foreign affairs, fair trade, and diaspora policy, becoming the first non-white and Muslim minister in Scotland.

After Nicola Sturgeon came to power in 2014, Yousaf continued in his previous position until 2016, when he was appointed Minister of Transport.

After a cabinet reshuffle in 2018, he was promoted to the position of Minister of Justice and then assumed the position of Minister of Health in 2021.

During his tenure at the Ministry of Justice, Yousaf introduced a bill criminalizing hate practices, making it a crime to incite hatred against religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, and transgender identities.

However, the stages of his life and work did not go smoothly.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Humza Yousaf was subjected to racist comments at the beginning of his political career.

In 2014, Yousaf was subjected to a media attack, and he was accused of avoiding a vote in Parliament on a law allowing same-sex marriage due to pressure from senior Muslim sheikhs.

In 2016, when he was Minister for Transport, Yousaf was fined £300 for driving his friend’s car without insurance.

During his tenure at the Ministry of Health in the circumstances of the Coronavirus pandemic, Yousaf was subjected to many criticisms and found himself in the face of a storm when he demanded that people think twice before calling the emergency room in order to relieve pressure on hospitals, which was considered by many as endangering people’s lives and depriving them of health services.

 

Diverse Reactions

In her reaction to this victory, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I pay tribute to all 3 candidates for the SNP leadership for rising to the challenge. Most of all I congratulate Humza Yousaf and wish him every success. He will be an outstanding leader & First Minister and I could not be prouder to have him succeed me.”

Ian Blackford, a regional leader in the SNP, commented that Humza Yousaf would be a team player. He will appear as the leader, but he will have people around the table with him.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who is also of Pakistani origin, hailed Yousaf’s election as evidence of the diversity of Scottish politics, stressing in press statements that it is an important moment for Scotland.

In turn, James Mitchell, a professor of public policy at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Yousaf’s victory is symbolically significant. This means that the leaders of the two largest parties in Scotland will be led by Scots of Pakistani origin, who have so far proven to be very popular and effective.”

The Times magazine considered that after Sturgeon entered history as the first woman to lead Scotland, the competition for her succession proved to be historic as well, after a candidate who warned of an ethnic and immigrant minority belonging to the Islamic religion filled the position.

On the other hand, his critics say that he is the worst health minister the country has ever seen, and that today he seeks to be the worst first minister ever.

His rival Kate Forbes even addressed him in a live debate, saying: “When he was Minister of Transport, the trains never arrived on time, and when he was Minister of Justice, the police were under severe pressure and were on the brink of collapse. Now, as Minister of Health, patients are living a record time waiting for their appointments.”

Since the official announcement of Humza Yousaf’s victory as First Minister of Scotland, Twitter has been ablaze with hashtags #HumzaYousaf and #SNP.

Although most Scots are happy with the outcome of the recent election, some individuals have expressed their dissatisfaction with the result because they believe that Yousaf is not the right candidate for the position.

Beyond that, some tweeters had more extreme opinions, with one saying: “Yousaf should not hold any position within the Scottish government, because he is Muslim, not Scottish!”

It is interesting that at present, the three leaders of Britain, Scotland, and Ireland are all of South Asian origin: British PM Rishi Sunak, Scottish PM Humza Yousaf, and Irish PM Leo Varadkar.

 

Huge Divisions

One of the most important challenges that Humza Yousaf is expected to face, according to media reports, is the huge task of achieving consensus among members of the SNP after it witnessed divisions due to intense competition for leadership.

However, Yousaf’s allies and those close to him agree that he has a likable personality, his method of dialogue is sophisticated, and that he is the most capable of uniting the SNP and maintaining and adhering to the power-sharing agreement with the Green Party.

These reassurances stem from the close relationship between Yousaf and Sturgeon, even if he has distanced himself from his ally’s plan to use the upcoming elections as an actual referendum.

However, Yousaf satisfied the separatists by saying that he might consider calling a snap election at Holyrood to test the support of the independence supporters.

He also promised to seek to create a stable majority in favor of independence by launching a series of workshops on this issue.

This was also mentioned by the i newspaper, which noted that Yousaf will follow a long-term policy to turn voters against Scotland’s presence in the British Union.

On the other hand, the Daily Telegraph quoted British PM Rishi Sunak as pledging that he would do whatever it takes to prevent the Scottish government from compromising the British Union.

Reports also indicated that Sunak may intervene to isolate the new Scottish PM if he tries to hold a referendum on the secession of Scotland.

The Supreme Court in Britain has previously ruled that the Scottish government has no right to hold a new referendum on independence without obtaining the prior consent of the British government.

In 2014, a referendum was held in which 55.42% of Scottish voters voted to remain within the United Kingdom. However, the SNP and the Green Party see Brexit as a great reason to hold another vote, especially as Scotland is the only territory in the U.K. that voted to remain within the EU.