New Delhi: Humza Yousaf has won the race to head Scottish National Party (SNP) to become Scotland’s first leader of color. The 37-year-old Yousaf, a Pakistani-origin, became the first Muslim to lead a country in Western Europe. Glasgow-born Humza Yousaf is set to be confirmed as first minister during a session of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
In his victory speech on Monday, Humza Yousaf vowed to deliver Scotland’s “independence”. “The people of Scotland need independence now, more than ever before and we will be the generation that delivers independence,” Humza Yousaf said while delivering his victory speech, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
SNP members chose Yousaf over Scottish finance minister Forbes by a margin of 52 per cent to 48 per cent, after third-placed candidate Ash Regan was eliminated in a first vote. Turnout among the 72,000 members was 70 per cent. Yousaf faces the challenge of uniting the SNP and reenergising the stalled independence campaign.
Humza Yousaf paid tribute to his late grandparents, who emigrated from Pakistan’s Punjab to Glasgow more than 60 years ago. “They couldn’t have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that two generations later their grandson would one day be Scotland’s first minister,” Humza Yousaf said.”We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message: that your color of skin, your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home.”
Brief: Humza Yousaf, a Pakistani-origin, became Scotland’s first Muslim leader to win the race to head Scottish National Party (SNP) at a time when UK has it’s first Indian-origin Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
