Part II
The Scottish Administration
Ministers and their staff
The Scottish Executive. 44.—(1) There shall be a Scottish Executive, whose members shall be—
- (a) the First Minister,
- (b) such Ministers as the First Minister may appoint under section 47, and
- (c) the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland.
(2) The members of the Scottish Executive are referred to collectively as the Scottish Ministers.
(3) A person who holds a Ministerial office may not be appointed a member of the Scottish Executive; and if a member of the Scottish Executive is appointed to a Ministerial office he shall cease to hold office as a member of the Scottish Executive.
(4) In subsection (3), references to a member of the Scottish Executive include a junior Scottish Minister and “Ministerial office” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the 1975 c. 24.House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975.
The First Minister. 45.—(1) The First Minister shall be appointed by Her Majesty from among the members of the Parliament and shall hold office at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
(2) The First Minister may at any time tender his resignation to Her Majesty and shall do so if the Parliament resolves that the Scottish Executive no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament.
(3) The First Minister shall cease to hold office if a person is appointed in his place.
(4) If the office of First Minister is vacant or he is for any reason unable to act, the functions exercisable by him shall be exercisable by a person designated by the Presiding Officer.
(5) A person shall be so designated only if—
- (a) he is a member of the Parliament, or
- (b) if the Parliament has been dissolved, he is a person who ceased to be a member by virtue of the dissolution.
(6) Functions exercisable by a person by virtue of subsection (5)(a) shall continue to be exercisable by him even if the Parliament is dissolved.
(7) The First Minister shall be the Keeper of the Scottish Seal.
Choice of the First Minister. 46.—(1) If one of the following events occurs, the Parliament shall within the period allowed nominate one of its members for appointment as First Minister.
(2) The events are—
- (a) the holding of a poll at a general election,
- (b) the First Minister tendering his resignation to Her Majesty,
- (c) the office of First Minister becoming vacant (otherwise than in consequence of his so tendering his resignation),
