John Swinney is the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery.
Born in 1964, he graduated from Edinburgh University with an MA (Hons) in Politics. He joined the Scottish National Party in 1979 at the age of 15 and has held a number of posts within the Party at local and national level. He has been the National Secretary, Vice Convener for Publicity and Deputy Leader before leading the party from 2000-2004.
John was elected as the Member of Parliament for North Tayside on 1st May 1997. In 1999, he became the MSP for Tayside North, remaining as the constituency’s MP until standing down from Westminster at the 2001 General Election. In 2011 the boundary changes meant the creation of new constituencies and John Swinney was elected as MSP for Perthshire North. He was re-elected in 2016.
John is a member of the SNP Scottish Government and was the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth from 2007-2014. In November 2014 John Swinney was appointed as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and the Economy. Retaining his seat in 2016, John was re-appointed Deputy First Minister and became the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.
In May 2021, John was re-elected once more. In addition to being re-appointed as Deputy First Minister, John was appointed the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery. This election meant that he became the longest-serving elected Parliamentarian in Scotland. He is currently covering the Finance and Economy portfolio while the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy is on maternity leave.
