Date formed 18 May 2016 Head of state Elizabeth II Status in legislature Minority | Head of government Nicola Sturgeon Total no. of ministers 24 | |
Member party Scottish National Party | ||
Nicola Sturgeon formed the second Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 5th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of First Minister on 17 May 2016. She was subsequently appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 18 May, and announced formation of a new Scottish National Party minority government.
History
In the May 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 63 of the 129 seats contested. Incumbent First Minister Nicola Sturgeon soon afterwards announced her intention to form a minority government. She was nominated for the post of First Minister by a vote of the Scottish Parliament on 17 May, defeating Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie by 63 votes to 5, with 59 abstentions. Ahead of the formation of the new government, long-serving ministers Alex Neil and Richard Lochhead announced their resignations from the cabinet. Sturgeon recommended the appointment of James Wolffe as Lord Advocate and Alison Di Rollo as Solicitor General on 31 May 2016. Their recommendation was confirmed by the Scottish Parliament on the same day.