Jenny Gilruth

Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth (born 1984) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2026. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Gilruth sat on the SNP's backbenches and served successively in the parliament's education, health, justice and social security committees. On 17 February 2020, first minister Nicola Sturgeon appointed her to the Scottish Government as the minister for culture, Europe and international development. She was later reshuffled as the transport minister and oversaw the transition to public ownership of ScotRail. Following Humza Yousaf's appointment as first minister, a campaign Gilruth endorsed, she was subsequently appointed to cabinet as the education secretary. Following the 2026 election, first minister John Swinney appointed Gilruth deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for finance and local government.

Early life and career Gilruth was first raised in Banff, Aberdeenshire, before her family moved to Ceres, Fife. Her father was born and raised in Newport-on-Tay. She was educated at Madras College (St Andrews, Fife). She graduated from the University of Glasgow with a degree in sociology and politics, and obtained her Professional Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Strathclyde. Gilruth also marked exams for the Scottish Qualifications Authority and is a published author.

Member of Scottish Parliament (2016–present) In April 2016, Gilruth was nominated as the SNP's candidate for Mid Fife and Glenrothes in the Scottish Parliament election on 5 May 2016. She won the seat with 15,555 votes (54.9% of the vote), with a majority of 8,236; more than double the votes cast for second-place candidate Kay Morrison of Scottish Labour. She succeeded Tricia Marwick, who had been the Presiding Officer in the 4th Scottish Parliament (2011–16).

Early ministerial roles (2020–2023) In February 2020, Gilruth joined the Scottish Government as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development as part of the reshuffle following the resignation of Cabinet Secretary for Finance Derek Mackay.

In a ministerial reshuffle on 24 January 2022, Gilruth was appointed as Minister for Transport, following the resignation of Graeme Dey. She said: "The transport portfolio is an exciting opportunity to not just shape the infrastructure of our country but to also help Scotland become a world leader in achieving our goal to become net zero by 2045." In June 2022, she responded to questions in the Scottish Parliament about her accountability and responsibility in resolving the ScotRail/ASLEF pay dispute. Following Yousaf's resignation as First Minister and Leader of the Scottish National Party in May 2024, Gilruth retained the post of Cabinet Secretary for Education in the Swinney government.

School–based violence

Gilruth came under criticism in February 2024 as it became to light that she had not read a report into violence in schools in the Aberdeen City Council area. Scotland's largest union representing teachers, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) claimed that they found it "very difficult to understand why the cabinet secretary would not have read the Aberdeen report or at least have been briefed on it". Addressing the comments made by an EIS spokesperson, Gilruth said that the report would "be for Aberdeen City Council to respond to", and also highlighted her awareness around the "challenges on this matter". Additionally, the plan indicated that a "culture shift" had been a major cause for leaving teachers feeling "disempowered". In the interview, Gilruth claimed that the way in which schools are funded "must be looked at", citing "the wider role schools are now playing in supporting struggling families". Her announcement followed a major report into the matter, which highlighted "pupils should not sit examinations prior to entering Fifth year". Following the meeting, Gilruth said that she would "promise future meetings to find solutions" to the issues identified by the campaign. The school was initially set to benefit from funding through the Scottish Government's Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) Phase 3 project, however, after substantial cuts made by Moray Council to their budget, the likelihood of any substantial programme of refurbishment at the school commencing were cut dramatically. She confirmed that the Scottish National Party (SNP) who run the Scottish Government, will "never support a policy where we bring back tuition fees", claiming that "we need to look to the progress we have made in relation to widening access to children from our poorer communities".

Deputy First Minister (2026–present)

Gilruth was appointed as Deputy First Minister on 20 May 2026, replacing Kate Forbes, who had chosen to retire from politics at the 2026 election.

Personal life On 15 July 2017, it was announced Gilruth was in a relationship with Kezia Dugdale, who was leader of the Scottish Labour Party. In June 2022, Gilruth and Dugdale married in a private ceremony. They live in Markinch as of 2017.