Scotland’s new First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has appointed Finance Secretary John Swinney as her deputy.
Mr Swinney is the first of Ms Sturgeon’s new appointments since she took over as the head of the Scottish Government on Wednesday.
The First Minister announced the news on Twitter, writing: “Delighted to announce that John Swinney is the new Deputy First Minister.”
Mr Swinney, who has served as Finance Secretary for the past seven years, had been widely tipped for the deputy post.
Mr Swinney tweeted: “It is the greatest privilege for me to be appointed Deputy First Minister of Scotland. I will do all I can to serve my country. #reshuffle”.
The Perthshire North MSP is one of the most experienced frontbenchers at Holyrood, and is also a former leader and deputy leader of the SNP.
He was elected SNP leader in 2000, becoming leader of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament, before standing down in 2004.
Ms Sturgeon – who was Deputy First Minister for seven years – took over from Alex Salmond after he formally resigned as First Minister on Tuesday.
Mr Salmond announced he intended to step down after losing the independence referendum in September.
Nicola Sturgeon chooses John Swinney as her deputy
