Dundee-based former first minister Humza Yousaf is to quit Holyrood at the next election.
Mr Yousaf – who is married to West End councillor Nadia El-Nakla – will leave parliament after 15 years.
The ex-SNP leader resigned as first minister in April, making way for Perthshire North MSP John Swinney
In a letter to his successor, Mr Yousaf said the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections would be the “right time” for him to move on.
Some commentators had suggested Mr Yousaf, who currently represents Glasgow Pollock, could have stood in Dundee.
He wrote: “The next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 will be the right time for me to move on, to provide an opportunity for the next generation of MSPs to step forward, and to explore where I can best make a contribution in the future, in helping to tackle some of the most pressing challenges our world faces.”
Mr Yousaf also said that since leaving frontline politics he had been able to enjoy family life.
Family life
He added: “Since standing down from the frontbenches, I have, for the first time attended my children’s sports day, parents’ evening, and today will be going to my daughter’s Christmas Show.
“I look forward to many more firsts as a father over the coming months and years.”
Mr Yousaf also thanked Ms El-Nakla for her support: “I would be nowhere without the support of my family, and in particular the love and guidance that Nadia has given me, and the sacrifices she has made for our family over the years.
“I owe her a debt I suspect I will never be able to repay, but I shall certainly try my best.”
Humza Yousaf was the first person from an ethnic minority background to be first minister of Scotland as well as the youngest, but he will be remembered for his shaky tenure in charge.
While he avoided being the shortest incumbent of the post, a title held by Labour’s Henry McLeish after he was in office for one year and 12 days between 2000 and 2001, Mr Yousaf’s time at the top ended abruptly.
Within days of him taking charge, Ms Sturgeon’s husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was arrested by police investigating the whereabouts of £600,000 of donations to the party.
It shaped his tenure as he was seen to be reacting to events rather than shaping them.
Mr Swinney’s responded to his predecessor’s decision to stand down, saying he was a “pioneer in Scottish politics”, adding: “I wish Humza, Nadia and their family much peace together”.
Conversation