A biography for Humza Yousafhasn’t been written yet.
“I've got no doubt at all, that I will be the leader that will ensure that Scotland becomes an independent nation.”
“I think the SNP, if we can keep focused on what matters to people, keep delivering for them, get rid of some of the more difficult issues around our neck, then I think we'll be in a really good place.”
“The NHS and its founding principles are, to me, paramount and my job as the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is to preserve those founding principles. I take that job as a custodian of those founding principles very seriously.”
“Leaving government and leaving the office of first minister was hard. It's not just the circumstance because I've always believed that as soon as I entered politics, it's obviously going to come to an end at some point.”
“The effects of independence will no doubt go beyond the borders of Scotland. An independent Scotland where both main parties are progressive, social democrats could help to realign the English political landscape.”
“We will be the generation that delivers independence for Scotland.”
“I'm a supporter of equal marriage.”
“As the son of immigrants, I could never have imagined the incredible political journey I have been on. I feel blessed.”
“Unfortunately, when I became FM the slew of racism and hatred, including Islamophobia increased exponentially.”
“I'm grateful for lots of things in life.”
“I remember the feeling of bewilderment the first time my older sister told me how tightly she grips her keys in her pocket if she is walking alone in the dark. Bewilderment, because as men we just don't have to think that way.”
“Politics can be a brutal business. It takes its toll on your physical and mental health, your family suffer along side you.”
“We would never prop up a Conservative government, ever. And underline that and put that in bold. But of course if Labour do not want to cooperate with us then we would make life very difficult for them.”
“As an angry 16-year-old Muslim growing up in the West in the aftermath of 9/11, with all of the Islamophobia that ensued after that, I wanted to change the world, and change attitudes. Politics has given me a platform and a voice to do that.”
“My dad, who really had so much foresight, said that we were living at a time when we needed more representation and we didn't really have anything. He was the one that said I should go into politics.”
“I have the deepest respect and affection for Nicola Sturgeon.”
“Like all men, I have had to reflect on my own behaviour and language over the years. Without doubt, in my younger years I will have told a misogynistic joke at the expense of women, or not challenged behaviour that was demeaning to women.”
“I think as people of colour who are in senior positions of government and senior positions in public life, we've got two choices - we can either reach down and give other people our hand and pull them up with us or we can pull the ladder up behind us.”
“Scotland has shown global leadership on a range of issues, such as the climate emergency.”
“We will transition from being the oil and gas capital of Europe to unleashing our renewable potential and becoming the net-zero capital of the world. We will show moral leadership and ensure funding for loss and damage is not just pledged but paid and I would urge other nations to join us.”