Humza Yousaf, 37, the son of Pakistani immigrants and the first Muslim and person of Asian ancestry to hold the position, has made history by being chosen as Scotlands First Minister. He is also the countrys youngest head of state in that position.Who is Humza YousafMr Yousaf is a career politician who majored in politics and Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow. He has been a member of the Scottish Parliament for twelve years and has extensive experience with the politics of the Scottish National Party. He has held multiple cabinet positions, including transport minister, justice secretary, and health secretary.Humza Yousaf, who was born to Pakistani immigrants in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 7, 1985, was raised in a working-class family in the Pollokshields neighbourhood of Glasgow. His paternal grandparents were employed in the sewing machine industry in Clydebank, and his father, Mian Muzaffar Yousaf, was an accountant. His mother, Shaaista Bhutta, left Nairobi, Kenya, where she was born, as a result of racial discrimination and immigrated to Scotland.Yusuf was driven to join several youth organisations at a young age by his commitment to community service. He began working for community radio at an organisation that raised money for charities called Islamic Relief for twelve years. He joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2005 while attending Glasgow University to complete his degree. After earning his degree, Yusuf worked in customer service before becoming Bashir Ahmads assistant and later an assistant to Alex Salmond and Anne McLaughlin, two MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. Yousaf enrolled in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2008 while working as an assistant. He was given the honour of being named the “Future Force of Politics” at the Young Scottish Minority Ethnic Awards in 2009, which occurred a year later.Since joining the Scottish government in 2011, Yusuf has served in a number of ministerial capacities. He was the Foreign Affairs and International Development from 2011 to 2012. He was afterwards appointed Minister of Europe and International Development in 2012. He was appointed Minister of Transport and the Islands in 2014. He also worked for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as Justice Secretary from 2018 to 2021.What does Scotland expect from the new First MinisterThrough advancing to the leadership, Mr Yousaf is filling the shoes of his forerunner, Nicola Sturgeon, who set the tone for Scottish politics for almost ten years, particularly in relation to Scotlands place in the United Kingdom and the complicated Brexit issue. In the race for the SNP leadership, Mr Yousaf garnered 52% of the vote after running a campaign that vowed to bring about Scottish independence from the UK and a reentering of the European Union.The people of Scotland are currently observing to see if Mr Yousaf will remain true to his public image as a “continuity candidate” in the framework of these important political issues, as well as to see if he can guide his nation through the rough seas of the continuing cost-of-living crisis, the challenging shift to renewable energy, and the long-promised restructure of the National Health Service and other crucial public services.Nonetheless, the nature of the problem confronting the incoming First Minister is different from previous ones. As per current polling, Scottish demand for independence from the United Kingdom has plummeted to 39%, lower than the 44.7% who backed the cause in the 2014 referendum and much lower than the 58% garnered in 2020 in the aftermath of Scotlands reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic. Although Mr Yousaf has promised to re-energise the independence debate by speaking to ordinary Scottish people across the country and that his generation will be “the generation that brings freedom for Scotland,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already turned down Mr Yousafs call for independence.Moreover, London has explicitly stated that a referendum will not result in the dissolution of the United Kingdom unless Westminster authorises it, which is implausible. To make matters worse, the SNP is in a terrific wreck, according to its President, Michael Russell, and the wounds of internal fighting have yet to heal. Amid the almost impossible obstacles to a successful referendum for Scottish independence, the enticing but faraway goal of EU readmission, along with the more real concerns of unrestrained inflation and energy price rises, Mr Yousaf clearly has his work cut out.
