Shona Robison

Shona Robison
Official portrait, 2024
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government[a]
Assumed office
29 March 2023
First MinisterHumza Yousaf
John Swinney
Preceded byKate Forbes
Deputy First Minister of Scotland
In office
29 March 2023 – 8 May 2024
First MinisterHumza Yousaf
Preceded byJohn Swinney
Succeeded byKate Forbes
Ministerial offices
2007‍–‍2023
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government[b]
In office
20 May 2021 – 28 March 2023
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byShirley-Anne Somerville (Social Security)
Aileen Campbell (Communities and Local Government)
Succeeded byShirley-Anne Somerville
In office
22 April 2014 – 21 November 2014
First MinisterAlex Salmond
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byAlex Neil
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport
In office
21 November 2014 – 26 June 2018
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byAlex Neil
Succeeded byJeane Freeman
Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport
In office
19 May 2011 – 22 April 2014
First MinisterAlex Salmond
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Minister for Public Health and Sport
In office
17 May 2007 – 19 May 2011
First MinisterAlex Salmond
Preceded byLewis Macdonald
Succeeded byMichael Matheson
Parliamentary offices
1999‍–‍present
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Dundee City East
Dundee East (2003–2011)
Assumed office
1 May 2003
Preceded byJohn McAllion
Majority13,337 (41.1%)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for North East Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Personal details
Born
Shona McRory Robison

(1966-05-26) 26 May 1966 (age 58)
Redcar, North Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse
(m. 1997; div. 2017)
[1]
Children1
Alma mater
Websiteshona.robison.scot

Shona McRory Robison (born 26 May 1966) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023.[a] A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 2024. Robison has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City East since 2003[c] and was an additional member for the North East Scotland region from 1999 to 2003.

Robison served as Minister for Public Health and Sport from 2007 to 2011. She then oversaw the Scottish Government's preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport from 2011 to April 2014, when she was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet by Alex Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights. When Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Salmond as First Minister in November 2014, she appointed Robison the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport.

In 2018, she resigned from government during a cabinet reshuffle after being widely criticised for her poorly received tenure as Health Secretary.[3][4][5] She returned to the backbenches, where she served on the justice and health committees. In 2021, Robison returned to Sturgeon's government as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government. During her tenure in the position, she oversaw the government's efforts to pass the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Following Sturgeon's resignation as first minister in 2023, Robison was appointed Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary by Humza Yousaf in his new government. After Yousaf's resignation and the subsequent appointment of John Swinney as First Minister in 2024, Robison resigned as Deputy First Minister but retained her finance portfolio in Cabinet, with additional responsibility for local government.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Clegg, David (17 May 2019). "SNP infighting more like Game of Thrones plot than conduct of political party". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. ^ "First Periodical Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries, Boundary Commission for Scotland website, accessed 20 December 2008". Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  3. ^ "Shona Robison quits as Nicola Sturgeon reshuffles cabinet". BBC News. 26 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Tom Peterkin: Shona Robison is a lame duck Health Secretary | The Scotsman".
  5. ^ "A dignified end to Robison's tricky time as Health Secretary". The National.