Who is Jenny Gilruth? SNP education boss being touted as potential leader

Meet the SNP minister being talked about as a potential party leader as Humza Yousaf tries to cling on to his job.

Jenny Gilruth is the Scottish Government education secretary, a brief which has put her in charge at a difficult time for pupils and teachers.

A former teacher, she taught at Royal High School in Edinburgh and was head of social subjects at St Columba’s RC High School in Dunfermline.

That may have helped with the education brief in Holyrood.

But could the woman picked by Nicola Sturgeon for government go all the way to the top?

From Aberdeen to Fife

Jennifer Gilruth was born in Aberdeen in 1984. She was raised in Banff before her family moved to Ceres in Fife when she was young.

She attended Aberchirder primary school in Aberdeenshire, Ceres primary school, then Madras College in St Andrews. She went on to study politics and sociology at Glasgow University.

While a student in Glasgow she became an active member of the SNP’s student wing and served on the national executive of Young Scots for Independence.

After her undergraduate degree she studied for a PDGE to teach modern studies at Strathclyde University and worked at the Scottish Executive as a graduate researcher in the justice department.

She joined the SNP officially at the age of 22 in 2007 and worked for ex Fife MSP Tricia Marwick MSP in her constituency office and Kenny MacAskill MSP in Holyrood.

She also had a spell as a parliamentary liaison officer for Deputy First Minister John Swinney.

Rapid rise from Mid Fife and Glenrothes win

It’s already been a rapid rise through the ranks for an MSP elected in Mid Fife and Glenrothes seat in 2016.

In January 2020 she stepped up under Ms Sturgeon to become minister for Europe, migration and international development.

It was part of a cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of disgraced finance secretary Derek Mackay.

At the 2021 Holyrood election she was re-elected to Mid Fife and Glenrothes with a majority of 10,234 – one of the biggest majorities in the country.

She became minister for transport in the reshuffle of January 2022, following the resignation of Graeme Dey from his post.

That was a tough job as the country reopened after Covid.

It was also full circle from one of her first election pitches.

In 2016, she campaigned on the need to improve transport links in Fife and was vocal in her support for the Levenmouth Rail link.

In the actual ministerial role, she had to deal with ScotRail’s pay dispute which led to 700 services being axed, putting her in the firing line by frustrated travellers.

In one memorable exchange over rail problems, she told parliament: “I don’t drive the trains.”

Education chief

She was made education secretary in March 2023, working under Humza Yousaf as first minister.

In her year in the job, she has been tested on the response to school violence, including high profile bullying claims in Fife.

She also had to field angry responses when reports showed Scotland slipping back in global ranking.

Relationship with Kezia Dugdale

Before becoming a government minister, Ms Gilruth began a relationship with fellow MSP Kezia Dugdale.

At the time, Ms Dugdale was leader of Scottish Labour, and a close friend of the couple said they “share much in common” but will always “differ over politics”.

Ms Sturgeon congratulated the couple at the time by saying “love really does conquer all”.

They married in June 2022. 

This week, it is the relationships inside the SNP that are going to test people to the limit.

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