Derek Mackay

Derek Mackay
Official portrait, 2018
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work
In office
26 June 2018 – 6 February 2020
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
DeputyKate Forbes
Preceded byHimself (Finance)
Keith Brown (Economy, Jobs and Fair Work)
Succeeded byKate 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 MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byJohn Swinney
Succeeded byHimself (Finance)
Michael Russell (Constitution)
Junior ministerial offices
Minister for Transport and Islands
In office
21 November 2014 – 18 May 2016
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byKeith Brown
Succeeded byHumza Yousaf
Minister for Local Government and Planning
In office
7 December 2011 – 21 November 2014
First MinisterAlex Salmond
Preceded byAileen Campbell
Succeeded byMarco Biagi
Further offices held
Chairman and Business Convener of the Scottish National Party
In office
18 June 2011 – October 2018
LeaderAlex Salmond
Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded byBruce Crawford
Succeeded byKirsten Oswald
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Renfrewshire North and West
In office
5 May 2011 – 5 May 2021
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byNatalie Don
Personal details
Born
Derek John Mackay

1977
Paisley, Scotland
Political partyIndependent (from 2020)
SNP (until 2020)[1]
Children2
ResidenceBishopton, 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.

  1. ^ "Scotland's Finance Secretary suspended from SNP amid text scandal". Evening Standard. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Profile of Derek Mackay: the ex 'fundie' tipped as the next SNP leader". HeraldScotland. 9 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.