Fiona Hyslop

Early life

Childhood and education Fiona Jane Hyslop was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 1 August 1964. At the age of three she moved to Grantham, England, where it made her feel Scotland was a "distinct country".

When Hyslop was 14, her mother married her step-father, a general practitioner, who had two children. Her step-brother was hospital catering manager and her step-sister was in the police, giving Hyslop a sense of the importance of public services.

Early political activism

Hyslop helped campaign for the Scottish National Party at a local by-election even though she was not a member. In 1986, she eventually joined the Scottish National Party. She described herself as never being a "joiner" and joined the SNP after she read their manifesto, and felt that Scottish independence most suited her interests. She became the party's election agent for three regional candidates in the 1988 Scottish local elections and managed to win a seat. Her first years as Member of the Scottish Parliament, strengthened her views on Scottish independence after seeing the lack of powers the parliament really had. She felt frustrated by the lack of influence the parliament had over the Iraq war and believed Scotland's place in the world "would be far better strengthened by independence."

Education Secretary; 2007-2009

The SNP formed a minority government following the 2007 election, with Alex Salmond as First Minister. Salmond appointed Hyslop to his cabinet as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, a portfolio she had previously shadowed. As Education Secretary, she passed the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Act 2008, an Act of the Scottish Parliament to abolish the graduate endowment, and the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009, which made provisions in relation to additional support needs. In December 2009, opposition parties called for Hyslop to be sacked, as Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray stated that schools were in "crisis". Labour threatened to motion a vote of no-confidence. With an SNP minority government, this made Hyslop almost certain to be ousted from office. Instead, Salmond sacked her from cabinet and she was demoted to a junior minister post of Minister for Culture and External Affairs.

In 2011 election to the 3rd Scottish parliament, Hyslop ran, again, for the Linlithgow constituency. After running twice, she successfully defeated Scottish Labour's Mary Mulligan, gaining the constituency.

Culture Secretary; 2009-2020

Following the SNP's landslide victory in the 2011 election, she was promoted back to cabinet in Salmond's second government as Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, she campaigned in favour of Scottish independence.

Following the defeat of the Yes campaign in the referendum, Salmond resigned as First Minister and leader of the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Salmond and Hyslop remained in Sturgeon's new cabinet. She added Europe onto her portfolio as Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs. In the 2016 EU Referendum, she campaigned to remain within the European Union, as she stated there would be 'huge economic uncertainty'. In 2020, she added economy onto her portfolio as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture.

Backbencher; 2021-2022 Hyslop was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 2021 election. Prior to Nicola Sturgeon's cabinet reshuffle, she announced that she would stand down from government, having served 14 years. As a backbencher, she served as Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Economy and Fair Work Committee and was a member of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.

Transport brief; 2023-2026 In June 2023, she was appointed as the junior Minister for Transport, after Kevin Stewart's resignation.

In February 2024, her Transport portfolio was elevated to be a full cabinet position and she was appointed as the new Cabinet Secretary for Transport. This came during a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of Michael Matheson, the Health Secretary at the time. She was reappointed to the position by Yousaf's successor, John Swinney.

2026 Scottish elections

On 5 March 2025, Hyslop confirmed that she would not seek re–election in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Personal life Hyslop lives in Linlithgow with her husband and their three children.