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dpa

Edinburgh, Scotland

Humza Yousaf said he felt like the “luckiest man in the world” after being elected as the new leader of Scotland’s ruling Scottish National Party (SNP). Yousaf, who has been Scottish Health Secretary since 2021, succeeds Nicola Sturgeon in the role and will now be formally elected by Scottish parliament membersas Scotland’s sixth first minister on Tuesday.

It means the leaders of Britain (Rishi Sunak), Scotland and London (Sadiq Khan) are now all ethnic minorities whose families came from what is now India and Pakistan.

The SNP is committed to independence from the UK and is the biggest Scottish party. Yousaf recorded a narrow victory over rival Kate Forbes once second preference votes were taken into account and when Ash Regan was eliminated after the first round of voting. In a speech he pledged to “dedicate every waking moment” to serving the people of Scotland.

The 37-year-old will be the first person from an ethnic minority to be first minister and the first Muslim to lead Scotland - as well as the youngest ever first minister. He recalled how his grandparents had moved from the Punjab to Scotland more than six decades ago.

He said: “As immigrants to this country, who knew barely a word of English, they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of being the next first minister of Scotland.

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28/03/2023
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