Scottish Executive

The government of Scotland for devolved matters since 1999. The Executive comprises a First Minister and a team of cabinet secretaries and ministers, including two law officers (the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General), supported by civil servants. The ministers are politicians drawn from the Scottish Parliament – from the party or coalition with a majority of seats – to whom they are accountable. The Executive comprised six main functional departments: justice; health; environment and rural affairs; development; education; and enterprise, transport, and lifelong learning. The Executive also overseas a number of executive agencies, including the Scottish Court Service, Scottish Prison Service, Historic Scotland, and Communities Scotland.

Following a narrow victory by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in elections to the Scottish Parliament in May 2007, Alex Salmond became First Minister of the Scottish Executive at the head of a minority SNP administration.