Humza Yousaf

Humza Haroon Yousaf was born in Rutherglen Maternity Hospital in Rutherglen on 7 April 1985.[5][6][7] He is the son of first-generation Pakistani-Punjabi Muslim immigrants: his father Mian Muzaffar Yousaf was born in Mian Channu, Punjab, Pakistan, and emigrated from the city with his family in the 1960s, eventually working as an accountant.[8]

His paternal grandfather worked in the Singer sewing machine factory in Clydebank in the 1960s.[9] Yousaf's mother, Shaaista Bhutta, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, to a family of Pakistani-Punjabi descent.[10][9] Due to their non-African background, her family was regularly harassed and occasionally assaulted: following an incident where her mother was attacked with an axe, they emigrated to Scotland.[11]

Humza attended Mearns Primary School in East Renfrewshire.[12][13][14] Yousaf was one of two ethnic-minority pupils to attend his primary school.[11] Yousaf was privately educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, an independent school in Glasgow, where his Modern Studies lessons inspired him to become involved in politics.[15][16]

He described the September 11 attacks as the "day that changed the world and for me" when he was 16 years old. Prior to the attack, Yousaf was close to two pupils whom he sat next to in his registration class, but after the attack in New York, he claims that they asked him questions such as, "Why do Muslims hate America?"[11]

Yousaf studied politics at the University of Glasgow where he was President of the Glasgow University Muslim Students Association.[11][17] He graduated in 2007 with a Master of Arts (MA).[18]

This article is part of a series about Humza Yousaf
Political positions Electoral history MSP for Glasgow Pollok Health Secretary COVID-19 pandemic vaccine rollout NHS' recovery plan Drug deaths National Care Service Bill NHS waiting list Cost-of-living crisis NHS pay offer First Minister of Scotland Ministry and term 2023 SNP leadership election

Official parliamentary portrait, 2011

Yousaf was elected to the Scottish Parliament as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region in the 2011 election.[28][29] At 26 years old, he was the youngest MSP to be elected to the 4th parliament.[30] When being sworn in, he took his oath in English and then in Urdu, reflecting his Scottish-Pakistani identity;[31] he was dressed in a traditional sherwani decorated with a Partick Thistle tartan touch, and a plaid draped over his shoulder.[32]

He served on the SNP's backbenches and was a member of the parliament's justice and public audit committees.[33] On 25 May 2011, Yousaf was appointed as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister, remaining in this post until 4 September 2012.[34]

On 5 September 2012, First Minister Alex Salmond appointed Yousaf as Minister for External Affairs and International Development, responsible for external affairs, international development; fair trade policy and diaspora.[35] This junior ministerial appointment saw him working under the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. He was the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to be appointed as a minister to the Scottish Government.[36][37]

Yousaf signs Nicola Sturgeon's nomination for first minister, 19 November 2014

In October 2013, he outlined the SNP's plans to set out the United Nations target for overseas aid at 0.7% in an independent Scotland and accused the UK Government of going back on its promise in the 2010 coalition agreement to guarantee that level of spending.[38] Yousaf also outlined that an independent Scotland would "add a progressive voice to global issues promoting peace, equality and fairness" and added independence would be "achieved through a democratic, peaceful means without a single drop of blood being spilled and engaging with all the diverse communities that make up our rich tapestry in Scotland.".[39]

When Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in November 2014 following Salmond's resignation, she kept Yousaf as a junior minister, although the name of the position he held was changed to the Minister for Europe and International Development.[40]

On 18 May 2016, he was appointed as Minister for Transport and the Islands following the formation of Sturgeon's second government.[41]

On 26 June 2018, Sturgeon reshuffled her cabinet. She promoted Yousaf to the Scottish Cabinet to serve as Cabinet Secretary for Justice, succeeding Michael Matheson.[42] In the year prior to his appointment (2017–18), 244,504 crimes were recorded by the police in Scotland; in the final year of his tenure (2020–21), the figure was 246,511.[43]

One of his flagship policies was the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, which he promised would streamline existing legislation as well as add additional protections to minorities while maintaining rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.[44] The bill has been criticised by the Catholic Church, the National Secular Society as well as writers,[45] and in September 2020 it was amended to remove prosecution for cases of unintentionally stirring up hate, which could theoretically include libraries stocking contentious books.[46] Despite his initial promises, Yousaf in October 2020 said that the exception to the Public Order Act 1986 which allows people to use "otherwise illegal language" in their own homes should be abolished.[47]

Yousaf at the COP26 Climate Action for Health event, 2021

In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Yousaf was re-elected as the MSP for the Glasgow Pollok constituency. The SNP fell two seats short of an overall majority in the election, but remained the largest party, with more than double the seats of the Scottish Conservatives. Sturgeon formed a third administration and appointed Yousaf as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Jeane Freeman, who stepped down at the election.[48]

Yousaf at Scottish Government press conference on COVID-19 in 2020.

Yousaf entered office amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021 he said that ten children up to the age of nine had been admitted to Scottish hospitals in the previous week "because of COVID".[49] Professor Steve Turner, Scotland officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, contradicted him and said that children’s wards were “not seeing a rise in cases with Covid”. He added that the children in question had been hospitalised for other reasons. Yousaf clarified his statement and apologised for "any undue alarm".[50]

In July, the World Health Organisation concluded that six out of Europe's ten virus hotspots were in Scotland.[51] Tayside topped the list with 1,002 cases per 100,000 head of population over the previous fortnight.[52] The Scottish Government was accused of being ‘missing in action’ after it emerged that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Yousaf were all on holiday.[53] Yousaf said he had promised to take his stepdaughter to Harry Potter World, tweeting that: "Most important job I have is being a good father, step-father & husband to my wife and kids. In the last seven months they’ve had virtually no time from me."[54]

In September 2021, the average waiting time for an ambulance in Scotland soared to six hours and Yousaf urged the public to "think twice" before they called 999. Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane criticised the remark as “reckless messaging [that] could put lives at risk” and instead urged people to call an ambulance if they thought they needed one.[55] Following reports of elderly Scots dying whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive,[56] Yousaf asked the Ministry of Defence for help and soldiers from the British Army were deployed to drive ambulances.[57] Audit Scotland concluded that 500 people died in Scotland in 2021 due to delayed access to emergency treatment.[58]

Leadership campaign logo

On 15 February 2023, Nicola Sturgeon resigned as Leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland, which triggered a leadership election within the SNP to elect her successor.[59][60][61] On 18 February, Yousaf declared his candidacy for leader in an interview with the Sunday Mail.[62][63] He committed to challenging the UK Government over its decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and stated he wanted to increase support for Scottish independence before delivering a referendum.[64][65]

Yousaf launched his leadership campaign in Clydebank on 20 February.[66] He said he was not "wedded" with using the next UK 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.[67][68] 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.[69] He 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".[69]

During the campaign, Yousaf faced questions on why he missed the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014. He said at the time that he was meeting the Pakistani consul to discuss the case of a Scotsman facing the death penalty for blasphemy.[70] Yousaf stated his support for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, while his opponents Kate Forbes and Ash Regan opposed it.[71]

As confirmed on 27 March 2023, Yousaf had won the leadership race, after being victorious in both rounds of voting. He won the first round with 48.2% of first-preference votes, ahead of Forbes who received 40.7%, and Regan who received 11.1%, thus eliminating Regan due to finishing last. He then also won the final round of voting with 52.1% of the vote compared to Forbes in second place with 47.9%.[72] Yousaf accepted the leadership at an event at Murrayfield Stadium where he promised to lead the party in the interest of all its members.[73]

Yousaf will challenge the UK Government's section 35 order of the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.[78] During his first meeting with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, Yousaf requested a section 30 order to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence.[79][80] Sunak has rejected the request.[81]

Yousaf launches the fourth Building a New Scotland paper

In June 2023, Yousaf launched the fourth Building a New Scotland paper which focused on the constitution of an independent Scotland. 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. 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".[82] The previous three papers in the series were published by Yousaf's predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon.[83]

Opposition parties in Scotland criticised Yousaf and the Scottish Government for "focusing on the wrong priorities". A spokesman for the UK Government said "We want to work constructively with the Scottish government to tackle our shared challenges because that is what families and businesses in Scotland expect" and that "this is not the time to be talking about distracting constitutional change".[82]

On 27 July 2023, Yousaf launched the fifth paper in the Building a New Scotland series entitled Citizenship in an independent Scotland. The prospectus set out the Scottish Government's proposals for citizenship and passports in an independent Scotland, with the Scottish Government seeking to pursue an "inclusive" model similar to that in the Republic of Ireland. People born outside Scotland would automatically be entitled to Scottish citizenship under the plans if at least one of their parents were Scottish, and Scottish people resident in Scotland at the time of independence would be entitled to hold dual Scottish and British citizenship should be desire.[84] The paper commits and independent Scotland to remaining a member of the Common Travel Area, meaning that there would be no hard border between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom on land or at sea.[84] Scottish citizens would have the right to a Scottish passport on the day of independence, however, British passports held by Scots after independence would remain valid until their date or expiry.[84]

Yousaf meets with the International Monetary Fund's Gita Gopinath, June 2023

Yousaf entered office amid the ongoing cost of living crisis.[85] He supports the introduction of the deposit return scheme, but not in its current form, suggesting it should exclude small businesses.[86] He has emphasised the need for a wellbeing economy and has proposed introducing a new wealth tax in order to raise money for more welfare benefits.[87][88]

Yousaf accused the UK Government of placing the future of the Scottish Government's Deposit Return Scheme "in grave danger" in June 2023.[89] His comments came following a UK Government warning that it may block the inclusion of glass in the recycling scheme, and that policy surrounding deposit return schemes should be "consistent UK wide".[90] The intervention from the UK Government in an area of Scottish Government control sparked further consistutional tensions between Holyrood and Westminster, with Yousaf stating that the intervention is a "major erosion of the devolution settlement".[89]

In early June 2023, Yousaf wrote to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging him to revoke the decision regarding the removal of glass from the deposit return scheme by Monday 5 June. In the letter, Yousaf claimed that "the UK Government’s demands, including the removal of glass from DRS, would impact the environment, detrimentally affect businesses based in Scotland, and threaten the viability of the scheme".[91]

During the early days of his tenure as First Minister, Scotland's drugs death had fallen to its lowest levels in five years, however, it still had a higher drug death rate than the other countries of the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe.[92] As First Minister, Yousaf has advocated that the Scottish Government supports decriminalising drugs for personal use.[92] The Scottish Government has stated that they aim to provide 1,000 residential rehabilitation beds a year from 2026, prioritising spending more than £100 million on improving access to drug rehabilitation services.[92]

Yousaf has 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.[93] 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.[93] However, the Home Office has repeatedly rejected calls that would see sites established where users can take drugs under the supervision of medical professionals. Despite a report published by the Westminster Home Affairs Committee that recommended the establishment of a pilot drug consumption room in Glasgow, the Home Office again rejected calls for such a pilot scheme to be commissioned, leading to intervention from the First Minister who urged the UK Government to look at the evidence highlighted in the Home Affairs Committee report, and if calls were consistently rejected, then powers for the creation of drug rehabilitation rooms should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.[93]

Yousaf with a group of primary school children at the launch of the Reading Schools initiative, August 2023

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". 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.[94] He 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".[94]

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. 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.[95] Yousaf used his own daughter as an example, and argued as to whether his daughter should be entitled to free school meals considering Yousaf's high salary as First Minister of Scotland.[95] Opponents in the Scottish Parliament accused Yousaf of "flip flopping" over free school meals policy.[96] After mounting pressure on the backdrop of his statement, Yousaf pledged his support and commitment to free school meals and reaffirmed that the policy of free school meals in Scotland would not be ending and confirmed the Scottish Government's plans to introduce free school meals entitlement in secondary school, however, Yousaf did not provide a timescale for this delivery.[97]

In August 2023, Yousaf launched the Reading Schools project, a replacement initiative of the First Minister's Reading Challenge which was established under Yousaf's predecessor Nicola Sturgeon. 371 schools across Scotland have become accredited as "reading schools", with the hope of an additional 511 schools looking to have joined the project in the future. This is "an accreditation programme for schools that are committing to building a reading culture for their learners and communities".[98] Yousaf has claimed that it is 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.[99]

Yousaf with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, May 2023

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.[100] His predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, had, prior to leaving office, published a series of Scottish Government papers on Scottish independence, titled Building a New Scotland.[101]

Yousaf's first international visit as First Minister was to Brussels in June 2023,[102] which, during a three day visit, sought to set out his "vision for a meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship" between Scotland and the European Union.[103] Yousaf declared his desire to set up a permanent Scottish Government envoy to the European Union in Brussels to "aid the cause of independence".[104][103] 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. However, the Spanish Government has "professed" opposition to future Scottish membership of the European Union, citing fears that a future independent Scotland would lead to advancements in Catalonia's attempts for independence from Spain. Yousaf said that the Spanish Government made it "abundantly clear" and that he "agrees with the Spanish Government - that the situation in Scotland and Catalonia are different".[105]

Yousaf and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif met in May 2023 in London, with both Yousaf and Sharif declaring a commitment to "further strengthen historic ties between Pakistan and Scotland, including in the domains of trade, investment, education, water management, wind & solar technology and people to people links".[106]

Yousaf meets with Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko

During the SNP leadership bid, Yousaf was highly criticised and dubbed as "embarrassing" by asking "where are all the men?" when meeting a group of Ukrainian woman.[107] The group of women explained to Yousaf that their husbands were in Ukraine continuing to engage in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yousaf told the BBC that there was in fact Ukrainian men in the building and that the group of women he had asked the question to did not appear to take offence.[107] Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats described the blunder as "clumsy, insensitive and displays a real ignorance of international affairs" from the "man who is about to lead Scotland".[107]

In August 2023, Yousaf attended a wreath laying ceremony in Edinburgh to commemorate Ukraine's independence day. During the event, Yousaf reaffirmed Scotland's support towards Ukraine and stated that Scotland "stands in absolute solidarity with Ukraine”. He also highlighted that Scotland had welcomed more than 25,000 Ukrainian people since the Russian invasion in February 2022.[108] He claimed 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.[108] 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.[108]

In September 2023, Yousaf launched his first Programme for Government. The programme for government focuses on reducing poverty, delivering economic growth, tackle climate change and provide high quality public services.[109]