Eleanor Service |
When the Scottish National Party (SNP) welcomed Nicola Sturgeon into their ranks at the tender age of 16, little did they know they had just found the first female leader of their party, and First Minister of Scotland.
Born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, in 1970, to mother Joan and father Rob, Sturgeon was inspired into politics by an unlikely source: Margaret Thatcher.
She explained this unusual revelation in an interview with BBC Radio 4: “Thatcher was prime minister, the economy wasn’t in great shape, lots of people around me were looking at a life or an immediate future of unemployment and I think that certainly gave me a strong sense of social justice and, at that stage, a strong feeling that it was wrong for Scotland to be governed by a Tory government that we hadn’t elected.”
Despite such an early involvement in her party, Sturgeon’s political career didn’t begin straight away. Instead, she opted to explore law, graduating from Glasgow University with a law degree at the age of 21. Sturgeon fondly recalled her years at university whilst on a visit to her alma mater, saying “The years I spent here [Glasgow University] did a great deal to make me the person I am today”.
Showing great determination, Sturgeon stood in her first UK general election for MP in 1992, at only 21, only 2 weeks before her final university exams.
Despite losing this election, Sturgeon was undeterred and in 1999 she was elected as a Glasgow Regional MSP to the new Holyrood Parliament.
From there Sturgeon’s career blossomed, beginning with her moving to the positions of shadow minister for education, health and justice.
It then came to 2004, a tumultuous time for SNP, suffering from a mixture of bitter in-fighting and negative press. This disruption presented a bad front to voters. But Sturgeon saw all this, and stepped in to seize her opportunity. She had a tough job ahead of her. The party needed to be united to form a viable candidate for winning the election, and quickly. Sturgeon was up for the challenge.
But there was a shock in store for Sturgeon, as Alex Salmond announced he would stand for leadership again. This led to Sturgeon facing a dilemma; should she take the joint-ticket and stand as deputy? Eventually, after much deliberation, Sturgeon accepted and the rest is history.
The Salmond-Sturgeon partnership was very successful, but the failure of the “Yes” campaign led to Salmond’s resignation, and suddenly the partnership was done. But Sturgeon wasn’t.
Determined to continue her work for an independent Scotland, Sturgeon stood unopposed for leadership of the party. From there it was onto the First Minister position, from which she has made moves to hold another independence referendum. Sturgeon continues to be one of the most competent, and popular, politicians in Scotland, according to opinion polls, with her party holding against Labour and the Conservatives in the most recent elections.
In the meantime Sturgeon is still an avid campaigner for the rights of young women everywhere, and to improve literacy through a love of reading.
With Forbes magazine ranking her the 50th most influential women in the world in 2016, and the second most influential in the UK, it is clear that she is a force to be reckoned with.
Sources:
- http://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/avenue/previousavenues/issue58summer2015/features/nicolasturgeon
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25333635
- https://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_fm
