Although he won a leadership challenge later that year, poor results in the 2004 European elections and a perceived lack of charisma saw Swinney ousted by party apparatchiks – nicknamed the “men in gray kilts” .
He walked around the block
The promising SNP leader has been immersed in politics for some time. He became national secretary of the SNP aged just 22 and was deputy to then-leader Alex Salmond between 1998 and 2000.
Elected MP for Tayside North in New Labor’s landslide victory in 1997, he entered the Westminster Parliament for a single term, before making the leap to the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
Since then, he has taken on major roles. Swinney was finance secretary when the SNP entered government in 2007 and served throughout Salmond’s term.
This period covered the financial crash and the Scottish independence referendum, as well as the rapid rise of the SNP in the Scottish elections.
He’s a Nicola Sturgeon loyalist – who didn’t want the top job last year
Swinney retained his post when Nicola Sturgeon took over from Salmond and earned a big promotion to Scotland’s deputy first minister.
For five years he was Education Secretary during a difficult period which saw Scotland fall in the rankings and two votes of no confidence following an exams controversy in 2020.
When Sturgeon announced her sudden resignation last February, Swinney joined her, leaving government and SNP seats after 16 years. He spoke of helping to “create space” for a “new perspective” on Scottish independence by leaving frontline politics. The sturgeon is full of praise on her mandate, saying she couldn’t have asked for a “better partner in government.” The quiet life, away from the spotlight, did not last long.
Politico
