LONDON
\nHumza Yousaf was sworn in as Scotland\u2019s new leader on Wednesday in a ceremony blending formal tradition with his Pakistani heritage, then announced his first cabinet in a move that risked deepening the divisions in his governing party.
\nYousaf, the first Muslim to lead a democratic western European nation, was dressed in a black sherwani at Scotland\u2019s highest court, the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
\nHumza Yousaf poses for a photograph after being his swearing-in ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. (AFP)
\nHis wife, watching with his children and parents, shed tears at the start of the ceremony.
\nYousaf, who pledged an oath of allegiance to King Charles, has previously said he wants to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state if he achieves his dream of ending Scotland\u2019s three-centuries-long political union with England.
\nThe 37-year-old then announced his new cabinet of six women and three men, who were mainly close allies of Scotland\u2019s former leader Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned last month after dominating Scottish politics for more than a decade.
\nBut the new lineup could breed disunity as it excluded Yousaf\u2019s leadership rivals or their allies who said they were offered only positions that amounted to demotions.
\nShona Robison \u2014 a close friend of Sturgeon \u2014 will serve as finance minister as well as deputy first minister, while Angus Robertson will continue to have the responsibility for constitutional issues and external affairs.
\nAnnouncing his new team, Yousaf said his cabinet, which has a majority of women for the first time in Scotland\u2019s history, should look as much as possible like the voters they represent.
\n\u201cAs we make the case for Scottish independence, we will continue to govern well and demonstrate to the people of Scotland the benefits of decisions about their lives being taken here in Scotland,\u201d he said.
\nThe new leader faces numerous challenges, including uniting his party, charting a new course toward independence from the United Kingdom, and fixing Scotland\u2019s problems with health care and education.
\nYousaf narrowly won a leadership race on Monday after a bruising contest that followed the surprise resignation last month of Sturgeon, who had dominated Scottish politics for almost a decade.
\nThe internal disagreements over the future of the pro-independence Scottish National Party and Scotland re-emerged after Yousaf\u2019s main rival, Kate Forbes, quit the government.
\nForbes turned down an offer to become the minister for rural affairs and islands, a step down from her previous role as finance minister, according to a source familiar with the talks.
\nFormer health secretary Alex Neil, who backed Forbes, said the proposed post was \u201can insult and not a real effort to unite\u201d the party.
\nYousaf had been expected to offer his leadership rival, whom he defeated by only about 2,000 votes, a more senior role.
\nDuring his leadership campaign, Yousaf had said he would depart from Sturgeon\u2019s \u201cinner circle\u201d style of leadership in favor of a \u201cbig tent\u201d approach.
\nForbes, who questioned Yousaf\u2019s record in government during the leadership campaign, posted on Twitter on Tuesday a reminder of the closeness of the contest, while saying Yousaf had her \u201cfull support.\u201d
\nThe business minister, Ivan McKee, who backed Forbes in the leadership contest, also said he quit the government after being offered a job he considered a demotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Humza Yousaf was sworn in as Scotland\u2019s new leader on Wednesday in a ceremony blending formal tradition with his Pakistani heritage, then announced his first cabinet in a move that risked deepening the divisions in his governing party. Yousaf, the first Muslim to lead a democratic western European nation, was dressed in a black […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-322664","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n