HUMZA Yousaf is a former first minister of Scotland and the current MSP for Glasgow Pollok.
He first entered Holyrood in 2011 and has remained in the parliament ever since then although plans to step down at the next election.
Yousaf resigned as Scotland’s first minister last year after ending the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.
When did Humza Yousaf enter politics?
Born and raised in Glasgow, Yousaf studied politics at the University of Glasgow before working as a parliamentary assistant for the late Bashir Ahmad.
Yousaf (below) was first elected as an MSP for the Glasgow region in May 2011, aged only 26, and was the youngest minister ever appointed to the Scottish Government.
He was then elected as a constituency MSP for Glasgow Pollok in 2016 – a position which he has held since.
However, Yousaf confirmed he would be stepping down as an MSP at the 2026 Holyrood election.
He announced the news last month, saying that the “time will be right for me to move on”.
“I could never have imagined the incredible political journey I have been on,” Yousaf said in a statement.
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When did Humza Yousaf become first minister?
Yousaf has held several ministerial roles in the Scottish Government, including as minister for Europe and International Development and for transport and Scotland’s islands.
He also served as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and as health secretary from 2021 until 2023.
The Glasgow MSP succeeded Nicola Sturgeon (below) as first minister, becoming the first person of colour to hold the office and the first Muslim leader of a western democracy.
Following Sturgeon’s resignation, he fought a leadership contest against now-Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Ash Regan – who now serves as Alba’s leader in Holyrood after defecting from the SNP.
When and why did Humza Yousaf resign?
Yousaf announced he would step down as first minister and as leader of the SNP on April 29, 2024.
He held the position for a little over a year but resigned after ending the power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens and was succeeded by John Swinney.
At the time, he had also been facing a confidence vote in his leadership tabled by the Tories and a separate bid by Scottish Labour expressing no confidence in the Government as a whole.
Speaking when he announced his resignation, Yousaf said: “Unfortunately in ending the Bute House Agreement in the manner I did I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset that caused Green colleagues.
“For a minority government to be able to govern effectively, trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental.”
Stance on Gaza
Yousaf has consistently called for a ceasefire in Gaza, with Israel’s bombardment having killed tens of thousands of people.
He has also called for an end for arms exports to Israel and has spoken at pro-Palestine demonstrations.
His in-laws returned to Scotland in November 2023 after being trapped for four weeks in Gaza.
El-Nakla’s parents had spent time living in Gaza in a house where 100 people were sheltering, including a child of two months old.
Before getting out, they had travelled to the border in an attempt to leave on three previous occasions.
At the time, Yousaf said his brother-in-law, a hospital doctor, and his family remained in Gaza as did his wife’s stepmother and grandmother.
Elon Musk feud
Yousaf has also been engaged in several clashes on Twitter/X with its owner Elon Musk.
This started in October 2023 when Musk accused Yousaf of being a “blatant racist” after the tech billionaire shared a highly selective clip of the SNP MSP when he was justice secretary.
In August 2024, Yousaf accused Musk of “amplifying white supremacy” after the Twitter/X owner said civil war is “inevitable” in the UK following riots in England and Northern Ireland.
Following this, there were then reports that Yousaf had issued a legal warning to Musk, who responded by calling the MSP a “scumbag”.
Outside of politics
Yousaf is married to Dundee councillor Nadia El-Nakla. He and El-Nakla (below), with whom he also has a step-daughter, announced the birth of their second child in July.
Away from politics, Yousaf volunteered for community radio for 12 years and on a charitable project providing foot packages to homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
He is a supporter of Celtic FC and regularly shows his support for the Scotland National Team.
