Humza Yousaf has been elected as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), filling the role vacated by Nicola Sturgeon.
He is the first Muslim leader of a major political party in Scotland, and is no stranger to such milestones – in 2012 Mr Yousaf became the youngest person, and the first from an ethnic minority background, to be appointed to the Scottish government when he took on the role of Minister for Europe and International Development at age 26.
Mr Yousaf won the vote with a 52 per cent majority, scraping past Kate Forbes, who campaigned on a platform of hard-line Christian values and major changes in the SNP.
Also in contest was Ash Regan, who broke ranks with the SNP over the bill that would allow transgender people to self-identify, however she was eliminated early on with only 11 per cent of first preference votes.
He does not automatically become Scotland's first minister with his election as leader of the party – that comes down to a vote at the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.
Mr Yousaf was widely considered the best candidate to smoothly continue Ms Sturgeon's legacy, sharing many of her passions for independence and progressive values.
"We will deliver independence for Scotland – together as a team," he pledged in his victory speech.
"My solemn commitment to you is that I will kickstart our grassroots, civic-led movement and ensure our drive for independence is in fifth gear.
"The people of Scotland need independence now more than ever before, and we will be the generation that delivers it."
Mr Yousaf also committed to continue Ms Sturgeon's fight against Westminster to push through the transgender self-identification legislation, which was controversially blocked by the UK government in January.
"I see (the UK decision) as a veto, as a power grab by the UK government. I don't think they have any right to use that," he said.
While Mr Yousef will no doubt struggle to get Ms Forbes and Ms Regan onside in his fight against Westminster for the gender bill, he said generally the lines drawn during the leadership contest would be scrubbed.
"In the SNP we are a family. Over the last five weeks we may have been competitors or supporters of different candidates.
"We are no longer team Humza, or team Ash, or team Kate, we are one team."
Mr Yousaf is the grandson of immigrants who arrived in Glasgow in the 1960s. His late grandfather came to Scotland from a small town in Pakistan in 1962 with barely a word of English.
"I don't imagine in his wildest dreams that his grandson would one day be running to be first minister of Scotland," Mr Yousaf said.
His mother and father were present at SNP headquarters when Mr Yousaf was announced the winner of the vote, with his mother caught wiping tears from her eyes as he gave his victory speech.
Future first minister not without controversy
Though Mr Yousaf was widely considered to lead the smoothest transition from Ms Sturgeon's leadership, the new party leader's rise is not without controversy.
Four years after joining SNP ranks, Mr Yousaf became Scotland's transport minister, but, just six months after taking on the portfolio, he was fined £300 ($554) and received six demerit points after he was caught by police driving a friend's car without appropriate insurance.
Mr Yousaf was promoted in 2018 when Ms Sturgeon named him justice secretary.
In that position, he introduced a hate crime bill that would make it illegal to "stir up" hatred based on race, religion, gender or sexuality, but the bill was mired in controversy over its potential impact on freedom of speech.
It was eventually passed by parliament in 2021 after a series of amendments were passed but is yet to become law.
But Mr Yousaf also controversially did not take part in the final vote to legalise same-sex marriage in Scotland in 2014.
He has defended his absence as being due to a meeting that could not be missed or moved about a Scottish man being held on death row in Pakistan, and has been forced to deny allegations made by then-First Minister Alex Salmond that he missed it due to religious pressure.
In stepping into the party leadership role, Mr Yousaf will vacate the health secretary position he came to in 2021 when the service was overwhelmed following the first wave of COVID-19.
He was widely criticised for urging the public to "think twice" before calling for an ambulance during that period, and in recent months Scotland's health service navigated strike action over pay and conditions.
