Nicola Sturgeon

Date of birth: 07.19.1970

Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon - Scottish politician, leader of the Scottish National Party and the first female First Minister of Scotland since November 2014.

Place of birth. Education. Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon was born on July 19, 1970, at Erskine Central Hospital in Irvine. She is the eldest of three daughters of electrician Robert Sturgeon (b. 1948) and dental nurse Joan Kerr Sturgeon (née Ferguson) (b. 1952).

Sturgeon graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1992 with a Bachelor of Laws. After her studies, she worked as a lawyer in Stirling and then in Glasgow.

Political Career. Sturgeon joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1986, already at that time a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and soon became deputy youth coordinator and deputy campaign coordinator. She first ran for the British Parliament in 1992 as the SNP candidate in the Glasgow Shettleston constituency, where she did not win but became the youngest candidate from Scotland.

In the 1997 general election, Sturgeon ran in the Glasgow Govan constituency for Parliament. She lost to Labour candidate Mohammed Sarwar by 2914 votes. Shortly thereafter, Sturgeon was appointed SNP spokesperson for energy and education.

In 1999, Sturgeon participated in the first Scottish Parliament elections as the SNP candidate in the Glasgow Govan constituency. Although she did not win the constituency, she topped the regional SNP list for the Glasgow region and was thus elected to the Scottish Parliament. During her first term in the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon was a member of the shadow cabinet - Minister for Children and Education from 1999 to 2000, Minister of Health from 2000 to 2003, and Minister of Justice from 2003 to 2004.

In the 2007 elections for the Glasgow Govan constituency, she won against Labour candidate Gordon Jackson by a margin of 4.7%. The 2007 elections resulted in a 'hung parliament', with the SNP receiving 47 seats and Labour 46, the SNP later forming a minority government. Sturgeon was appointed Deputy First Minister and Minister of Health in First Minister Alex Salmond's cabinet.

In 2011, the SNP achieved a clear victory and a majority in Parliament. Sturgeon retained her positions as Deputy First Minister and Minister of Health but was appointed Minister for Infrastructure and Investment and head of the organisation for Scotland's independence referendum a year later. Sturgeon argued that Scotland's independence would enable the country to build a stronger and more competitive nation and to change spending priorities to tackle 'the scandalous rise of poverty in such a rich country as Scotland'.

On September 19, 2014, 55.3% of Scotland's voters did not support Scottish independence, while 44.7% voted 'Yes'. After the referendum defeat, First Minister Alex Salmond announced his resignation from the position of First Minister and SNP chair. Sturgeon immediately declared her intention to run for these positions and received broad support within the SNP hierarchy.

On September 24, 2014, Sturgeon officially began her campaign, with many prominent SNP members publicly supporting her candidacy, and it became clear that no other candidate could obtain the necessary nomination votes. The nomination for the leadership of the SNP ended on October 15, and Sturgeon was confirmed as the sole candidate. She was elected unopposed during the party's autumn conference in November 2014.

On November 19, 2014, Salmond officially resigned as First Minister of Scotland, and Sturgeon was elected by the Scottish Parliament as his successor, becoming the first woman in this position.

In March 2018, she was ranked first on the list of the most influential women in Britain in an online survey by SkyNews, even surpassing Queen Elizabeth II.

Family. Sturgeon lives in Glasgow with her husband Peter Murrell, who currently serves as the SNP's chief executive. The couple has been together since 2003, announcing their engagement on January 29, 2010, and marrying in Glasgow on July 16, 2010. Her mother, Joan, is a member of the SNP's North Ayrshire Council.

07.18.2022