John Swinney: Who is the SNP veteran who could replace Humza Yousaf as First Minister?

Several senior members of the SNP have put his name out there, urging him to return to frontline politics and steady the ship unsettled by Mr Yousaf’s imminent departure.

But who is Mr Swinney, and how did he originally find himself in politics and entrenched as a key party figure across the leadership tenures of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon?

Has John Swinney been SNP leader before?

It would not be the first foray into the leadership for the former Tayside North MP, should he make the decision to go for it.

In September 2000, he took over as leader following the departure of Alex Salmond – the first time – having served as his deputy for two years previously.

His tenure would not be a happy one. The party’s fortunes would sink, returning just five MPs at the 2001 Westminster election and 22 MSPs in the 2003 Holyrood vote.

After seeing off an attempt to oust him by a party activist, Mr Swinney stepped down voluntarily after a poor showing at the 2004 European elections.

What else has John Swinney achieved in politics?

The end to his time as SNP leader was not the end of his political story. Mr Swinney was brought back by Mr Salmond to serve as finance secretary when the SNP took power in 2007.

He served in the role for the entirety of Mr Salmond’s tenure, before being appointed deputy first minister by Nicola Sturgeon when she took over.

Over the following nine years, the Perthshire North MSP occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, Covid-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Kate Forbes during her maternity leave.

During his time as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy, he cemented his reputation as a dogged defender of his boss, as well as an SNP stalwart.

But it was not without its challenges, as he faced two close no confidence votes in Holyrood, first over the handling of school exams during the pandemic, and his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

The election of Humza Yousaf as First Minister saw Mr Swinney call time on his career in Cabinet, but the urging of colleagues may be enough to see him seek the top job.

What is John Swinney’s personal background?

While his record with the SNP is well chronicled, what do we know about the man outside of politics?

Mr Swinney was born in Edinburgh in April 1964 and went to Forrester High School, a state school in the west of the city. After school he went to Edinburgh University and graduated in 1986 with an MA (Hons) in politics.

Before becoming a politician in 1997, Mr Swinney worked as strategic planning principal in Scottish Amicable, and was a business and economic consultant for five years, perhaps paving the way for his stint as finance secretary. But even before becoming a politician Mr Swinney was a life-long SNP supporter.

He joined the SNP in 1979 when he was just 15 years old and he has held numerous posts within the party both at local and national level, including national secretary, publicity vice-convener and deputy leader. The former deputy first minister also ran the party’s youth wing before becoming party secretary at the age of 22.

When speaking to the media only hours after Mr Yousaf’s resignation speech, Mr Swinney said he would need to consider his “precious” family before making any decisions.

He is married to wife Elizabeth and has three children, and lives in his constituency of Perthshire North.