Kate Forbes is set to leave the Scottish Government after finishing second in the SNP leadership race.
Ms Forbes is believed to have been offered the rural affairs job by new First Minister Humza Yousaf, but turned it down.
It means Ms Forbes, who served as Finance Secretary under Nicola Sturgeon’s administration, will return to Holyrood’s backbenches.
If she had moved to rural affairs it would have been seen as a major demotion, one which one of her backers and former health secretary Alex Neil branded an “insult and not a real effort to unite”, adding: “A poor start.”
Ms Forbes narrowly missed out on the leadership, claiming 47.9 per cent of the vote in the second round, while Ash Regan was eliminated in the first round with 11 per cent of the vote.
Early on in her campaign, Ms Forbes caused controversy when she said she would not have voted in favour of equal marriage legislation.
Neil Gray, Scotland’s culture minister and the campaign manager for Mr Yousaf, had previously indicated that Ms Forbes would be given a role in Government.
“There are conversations to be had about government going forward and the make-up, the structure and those that are involved in government.
“I’ll leave it to Humza to have those conversations over the coming days.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf promised to “argue tirelessly for independence” and said he had held a “constructive” dialogue with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He tweeted: “Just spoken with PM – we had a constructive discussion on a range of issues, including helping people through the cost-of-living crisis.
“I also made clear that I expect the democratic wishes of Scotland’s people and Parliament to be respected by the UK Government.”
Mr Sunak said he had spoken to the First Minister to congratulate him on his appointment.
“I’m looking forward to working with him to deliver on the priorities that matter most to people across Scotland – from cutting NHS waiting lists to growing our economy.”
In his first speech after being voted into the job by MSPs, the new SNP leader insisted his Government will be “able to deliver on our priorities more effectively when Scotland is independent”.
Mr Yousaf is the first First Minister from an ethnic minority background as well as the first Muslim politician to become leader of a Western democratic nation.
