He becomes Scotland’s first Muslim leader.

Mr Yousaf said he was “honoured” to be entrusted by the SNP membership after winning the leadership election.

He said: “It is hard for me to find the words to describe just how honoured I am to be entrusted by our membership of the SNP to be the party’s next leader and to be on the cusp of being our country’s next first minister.

He paid tribute to colleagues Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, adding: “It’s felt we’ve seen each other more than our respective families.

“You both have put in an incredible shift and I know that collectively we will work hard as part of Team SNP.”

Below we look at his career in politics to date and his personal beliefs:

Personal life

Mr Yousaf is the son of immigrants who arrived in Glasgow in the 1960s.

His father is from Pakistan, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya.

He was privately educated at Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow and studied politics at the University of Glasgow.

At a press conference in February, he said his late grandfather came to Scotland from a small town in Pakistan in 1962 with barely a word of English.

“I don’t imagine in his wildest dreams that his grandson would one day be running to be first minister of Scotland,” Mr Yousaf added.

He said it “speaks to us as a nation that anyone, regardless of race, can aim for the highest office in our country and not be judged by the colour of their skin”.

Scotland, he said, “should be proud that a grandson of an immigrant can seek to become the next first minister”.

Political career

Before becoming the first Muslim to be appointed to the Scottish government in 2012, Mr Yousaf was an office manager for the SNP’s Bashir Ahmad, the first MSP from an Asian and Muslim background and then went on to work for other MSPs, including Alex Salmond and Ms Sturgeon.

He became a transport minister in 2016 and was fined £300 for driving a friend’s car without insurance.

He then became justice secretary in 2018 and introduced the Hate Crime and Public Order bill which made “stirring up hatred” on religion, sexual orientation, age, disability and transgender identities an offence.

Mr Yousaf has also served as transport minister, and international development minister, before becoming the health secretary in 2021.

While working in this role, he has faced criticism for long waiting times and for urging the public to “think twice” before calling 999 in September 2021.

What does he believe?

Mr Yousaf has pitched himself as a continuity candidate. Pledging to preserve the SNP’s “winning formula” of progressive values, he has asked the party to quit “obsessing” with process. “If we build that consistent majority then those political obstacles that are put in the way, they will disappear, they will dissipate,” he said.

His pledges include appointing a senior figure to devise a strategy for rejoining the EU, challenging Westminster on its block on gender reforms and reforming the SNP.

Mr Yousaf has also promised more action on Scotland’s drugs death crisis and had said he will hold a series of independence campaign workshops, which would be available to all SNP members.

He has also joined those criticising his rival Ms Forbes for her religious views against same sex marriage.

However, he then came under scrutiny after questions were raised about why he missed the final vote on the issue in 2014.

A serving minister at the time, Mr Yousaf claimed he had an unavoidable meeting. But Mr Salmond, later gave an exclusive interview to Sky News claiming Mr Yousaf, had asked to “skip” the vote due to pressure from religious groups, which Mr Yousaf denied.

What has he said during his campaign?

In a video posted on social media when he launched his campaign, he spoke about how the days following Ms Sturgeon’s resignation had been a “rollercoaster of emotion”.

“I’m doing it because the top job requires somebody who has experience and I have been trusted by Nicola Sturgeon with some of the toughest jobs in government”, he explained.

He added he believes in Scottish independence “with every fibre” of his being.

But he said he had some “concerns” about the outgoing first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plan to use the upcoming general election, likely to be called next year, as a de facto second referendum on the issue.

He said: “I’m not as wedded to it as the first minister.”

Asked by reporters when a second referendum might be held, he added: “I’m not going to put a timetable on it. I want independence tomorrow if we can have it, and that goes almost without saying.”