News of the First Minister’s resignation took political peers and rivals by surprise, not least in Dundee where the SNP has had a stronghold in recent years.
Nicola Sturgeon said she knew “in my head and in my heart” this was the right time to step down after eight years as SNP leader.
From launching election campaigns, to celebrating Dundee’s citizens and successes, we take a look back at Nicola Sturgeon and her time in the city during her leadership.
A young Nicola Sturgeon in the infancy of her political career, pictured during the SNP’s Scottish Parliament election campaign in April 1999.
Right from the start, Ms Sturgeon vowed to fight for a free Scotland, and has said she will continue to fight for Scottish independence.
Ms Sturgeon was successfully elected as an MSP representing the city of Glasgow the following month and was re-elected in 2003.
And in 2014, she became First Minister, a role she said while announcing her resignation was the “very best job in the world” and a “privilege”.
Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, in her role as leader of the opposition in Holyrood, at the helm of the Discovery while visiting Discovery Point in April 2005.
The duo were in Dundee hoping to steer the SNP to success on the first day of the party’s General Election campaign.
The results of the ballot the following month saw Labour remain in administration, with a slight swing to the Liberal Democrats in Scotland.
But the SNP were starting to gain traction, taking two seats from Labour, including Dundee East.
Dovetail Enterprises employee Ross Cavanagh shows then-Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon the ropes during a visit to the Dundee factory in August 2013.
Ms Sturgeon was there to promote the £33 million Scottish Welfare Fund and its crisis grant, which aimed to help people affected by welfare cuts and the bedroom tax.
Describing the grants as a “lifeline”, she also highlighted goods, like mattresses and fire doors, manufactured by Dovetail using the fund.
Ms Sturgeon hit the Independence Referendum campaign trail in Dundee City Centre in July 2014 accompanied by Dundee MSP Joe Fitzpatrick.
The duo were on a walkabout meeting and greeting members of the public ahead of the divisive vote in September that year.
Although the Yes Campaign lost the vote overall, Dundee was the first place in Scotland to say Yes to independence – and by a margin of more than 13,000.
The result confirmed Dundee as Scotland’s most pro-Yes city.
Dundee’s very own loon Oor Wullie was revealed as the star of the First Minister’s official Christmas card in 2016.
In the snowy scene, illustrated by Peter Davidson, Wullie is sitting in front of his shed with the First Minister peering round the side after leaving a present for him.
Ms Sturgeon launched the card at The Vine in Dundee, and said she was “delighted” with the creation.
She added: “The marvellous artwork and timeless storylines mean that everyone recognises a little of themselves in these classic tales.”
The First Minister returned to Dundee in January 2016 to find out more about how the ambitious £1 billion Waterfront regeneration project was progressing.
St Mary’s School pupil Zane Bell showed Ms Sturgeon artist’s impressions of the transformative scheme, which she described as “an excellent project funded by ambitious vision”.
She added: “It is about taking the city’s industrial heritage – a really rich, proud, industrial heritage – and creating out of that a reputation for the future based on innovation and creativity.”
The First Minister visited the Michelin Tyre factory in June 2017 to announce a £16.5 million upgrade to the site, to safeguard 900 jobs for another decade.
Ms Sturgeon was shown around the premises by manager John Reid who described the investment as “a clear vote of confidence in the factory in Dundee”.
But the following year, jobs were already at threat from cheaper production in Asia, and despite the investment, the Michelin factory closed with 845 jobs lost in June 2020.
In October 2017, the First Minister was back in Dundee to launch the expansion of the Family Nurse Partnership, a nationwide scheme to help young mothers and their children.
Speaking at the city’s Caird Hall, Ms Sturgeon said: “We want to make Scotland the best country in the world to grow up in.”
And little 12-week-old baby Harri certainly brought a smile to Ms Sturgeon’s face during the event.
The completion of the V&A Dundee was a milestone for Scotland as well as Dundee.
The First Minister viewed the £80 million attraction ahead of its official opening on September 14 2018.
Ms Sturgeon hailed the “stunning” museum and said: “I arrived this afternoon with high expectations and they were wildly exceeded. Truly world class.
“My congratulations to everyone, from architect Kengo Kuma onwards, who worked so hard to make this vision a reality.”
Ms Sturgeon showing that she’s always game, had a go at netball during the official opening of the Regional Performance Centre, Caird Park, in February 2020.
The First Minister met schoolchildren and athletes who demonstrated the new facilities on offer at the £32 million centre.
Addressing the crowd, Ms Sturgeon said: “The facilities I’ve seen here undoubtedly put Dundee in the centre of Scotland’s sport scene.”
A delighted Ms Sturgeon was back in Dundee in May last year after the SNP won an overwhelming victory in the council elections.
The First Minister joined councillors and activists outside the V&A to celebrate the gains, as her party won 15 of the 29 seats to take control of Dundee.
Ms Sturgeon said it was a “quite incredible outcome” for the SNP after 15 years in power.
Conversation