# John Swinney — First Minister of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

# John Swinney — First Minister of Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

| Detail | Info |
|--------|------|
| **Full name** | John Swinney |
| **Role** | First Minister of Scotland (SNP) |
| **Born** | 13 April 1964 |
| **Constituency** | Perthshire North |
| **Previous roles** | Deputy FM, Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, Finance Secretary, SNP Leader |

## Celtic Alliance Position

**Pragmatic supporter.** Swinney hosted the **October 2025 "Progressive Alliance" talks** with Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth at Bute House. While his primary focus is Scottish independence and domestic governance, he has been open to deepening cooperation with other Celtic nations.

Key actions:
- Hosted Plaid Cymru leader at Bute House (30 Oct 2025)
- Discussed 2026 election coordination and policy sharing
- Has maintained SNP's existing cooperation with Irish nationalist parties through the British-Irish Council

## Sources
- [BBC — SNP and Plaid Cymru to join forces (Oct 2025)](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0gryd6k7ro)
- [Wikipedia — John Swinney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Swinney)