SNP health secretary Humza Yousaf has entered the race to take over from Nicola Sturgeon.
The 37-year-old announced he’d been through a “rollercoaster of emotions” as he put his name forward to be the next first minister of Scotland.
He will contest the place against Ash Regan, the SNP minister who quit government in opposition to Ms Sturgeon’s controversial gender reform laws.
In a video message posted on social media, Mr Yousaf claimed he has the experience to take on the top job.
However, his opponents have hounded him in Holyrood demanding his resignation from the health job.
Hospital performance has struggled badly with record lows for months.
Humza Yousaf ‘failing upward’
Labour’s health spokeswoman, Jackie Baillie, called him the worst ever health secretary and claimed he is “failing upward”.
He has also been transport secretary and justice secretary in Ms Sturgeon’s administration.
Earlier this month, he and wife Nadia El-Nakla dropped legal action against Little Scholars Day Nursery in Broughty Ferry for £30,000 after an allegation it unfairly discriminated against her daughter.
Mr Yousaf said: “I have been trusted by Nicola Sturgeon with some of the toughest jobs in government.”
Talking to the independence movement, he added: “I believe independence is needed now more than ever before.”
Mr Yousaf said there is too much “division” in politics and society and promised to bridge those gaps.
He was elected in 2011, becoming the youngest MSP then the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to hold a government post.
He moved to transport in 2015, then justice in 2018, followed by health.
The Glasgow Pollok MSP lives with his family in Dundee.
Candidates have until Friday to receive nominations
Ms Regan, who also announced her intention to stand, said: “The electorate expect the Scottish Government to focus on things that are important to them.
“That means the NHS which is still struggling to get back on its feet after the pandemic.”
She is MSP for Edinburgh Eastern.
Other candidates are yet to formally enter the race.
Angus Robertson, Mairi McAllan and Kate Forbes are among those being touted by supporters as potential candidates.
The party’s deputy leader Keith Brown, tipped as a possible contender, ruled himself out on Sunday afternoon.
Candidates have until Friday to receive more than the threshold of 100 nominations from at least 20 local branches.
If more than one candidate passes that mark, an election will be triggered, culminating on March 27.
Jeane Freeman says ‘grow up’
While the contest got going, former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman called for her party to “grow up”.
Ms Freeman, who was an SNP MSP from 2016 until she stood down in 2021, hit out at colleagues in the party engaged in “infighting”.
Flashpoints included stances on same-sex marriage and abortion, as well as gender reform.
Speaking on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Ms Freeman said: “The first thing I’d say is to my colleagues in the SNP, and I’d say to them: could you grow up?
“It’s not about you, it’s about the job that you were elected to do or the job that your party asks you to do.
“You will convince nobody, you will persuade nobody, you will achieve nothing by taking lumps out of each other.”
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