Humza Yousaf becomes Scotland’s first Muslim leader
Humza Yousaf has beaten rival Kate Forbes, to be named the first ever Muslim leader of Scotland.
He will take forward the Scottish National Party (SNP), replacing Nicola Sturgeon, who stepped down after eight years at the helm.
Talking about his ethnicity, Yousaf spoke proudly about his grandparents at his acceptance speech on Monday, “As immigrants of this country who knew barely a word of English, they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams that their grandson would one day be on the cusp of being the next First Minister of Scotland.”
The 37-year-old Glaswegian born becomes the youngest leader of the country. He added, “We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message that your color of skin or indeed your faith is not a barrier to leading the country that we all call home.”
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Prior to his appointment, Yousaf was Scotland’s health minister.
Yousaf’s victory comes after Rishi Sunak became Britain’s first South Asian Prime Minister. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is also of Indian-origin.
