Derek Mackay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 26 June 2018 – 6 February 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deputy | Kate Forbes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Himself (Finance) Keith Brown (Economy, Jobs and Fair Work) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Kate Forbes (Finance) Fiona Hyslop (Economy, Fair Work and Culture) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 18 May 2016 – 26 June 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | John Swinney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Himself (Finance) Michael Russell (Constitution) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Derek John Mackay 1977 Paisley, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Independent (from 2020) SNP (until 2020)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Bishopton, Renfrewshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derek Mackay (born 1977)[2] is a former Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work from 2016 to 2020. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire North and West from 2011 to 2021. Mackay served as a government minister from 2011 to 2020 under the administrations of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.
Raised in Renfrewshire, he was elected to Renfrewshire Council in 1999 and was Leader of the Council from 2007 to 2011. Elected to the Scottish Parliament at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, he served as Minister for Transport and Islands from 2011 to 2014 and Minister for Local Government and Planning from 2014 to 2016, as well as Chairman and Business Convener of the Scottish National Party from 2011 to 2018.
Mackay became Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution in 2016, succeeding Deputy First Minister John Swinney. In 2018, during a Cabinet reshuffle, Mackay's post was enlarged, absorbing the responsibilities of the previous role of Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work to become Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work. In February 2020, he resigned as Finance Secretary after the Scottish Sun reported he had messaged a 16-year-old boy on social media, describing the boy as "cute" and offering to meet with him. He was also suspended from the SNP and sat as an independent MSP for the remainder of the 2016 parliamentary term, which ended on 25 March 2021.