Who is SNP leader John Swinney?
BBCJohn Swinney: The basics
Age: 61
Education: Forrester High School, University of Edinburgh
Family: Married to BBC Scotland journalist Elizabeth Quigley. The couple have one son. Swinney also has a son and daughter from a previous marriage. Last year, he became a grandfather.
Who is he?
Scottish first minister and SNP leader John Swinney was born and raised in Edinburgh.
He went to Edinburgh University, where he graduated with a degree in politics in 1986.
After graduating, Swinney worked at the Scottish Coal Project and spent five years at Scottish Amicable Life Assurance.
He joined the SNP in 1979 aged 15 after a referendum held that year failed to deliver devolution for Scotland.
Swinney was soon running the SNP's youth wing and climbed through senior roles in the national party, becoming its secretary aged 22.
He is Scotland’s longest-serving elected parliamentarian.
What was his route into politics?
This is Swinney's second stint leading the SNP. He has been back in charge for almost two years.
He was first elected to Westminster as the MP forTayside North in 1997.
He went on to lead the party between 2000 and 2004, succeeding Alex Salmond.
Following disappointing results in the 2003 Scottish Parliament and 2004 European Parliament elections, Swinney stood down.
When the SNP came to power at Holyrood for the first time in 2007, Salmond - by that time back in charge of the SNP - turned to Swinney to be his finance secretary.
He held that post for more than seven years and then became deputy first minister to Nicola Sturgeon.
After a second spell as finance secretary, Swinney served as education secretary and then Covid recovery secretary.
He stood down from government at the same time as Nicola Sturgeon, in March 2023, and had seemingly retired from the front benches.
But a leadership crisis saw him in charge once more, after the resignation of Humza Yousaf in May 2024.
What are his key pledges?
The SNP’s key pledges for this election include:
- Use devolved powers to bring down costs for voters
- Eradicate child poverty
- Improve public services and the NHS
- Scottish independence