Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform:

• climate change and environmental protection
• biodiversity
• environmental and climate justice
• flood prevention and coastal erosion
• land use and land reform
• animal welfare
• wildlife crime
• water quality

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform:

• Cairngorms National Park Authority
• Crown Estate Scotland
• Drinking Water Quality Regulator
• Forestry and Land Scotland
• Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority
• NatureScot
• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
• Scottish Canals
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency
• Scottish Forestry
• Scottish Land Commission
• Scottish Water
• Water Industry Commission for Scotland

In the first Dewar Government, the environment brief was the responsibility of the Minister for Transport and Environment and the Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Land Reform, changing to the Minister of the Environment, Sport and Culture and the Deputy Minister for Rural Development from 2000 to 2001. From 2001 and 2007, environment was combined with the rural affairs brief for the Minister for the Environment and Rural Development, with the associated deputy post of Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development.

The Salmond government, elected following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, created the junior ministerial post of the Minister for Environment who assisted the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment, in the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. A junior minister did not attend the Scottish Cabinet unless his/her Cabinet Secretary was absent. The Minister for Environment and Climate Change and Land Reform took the lead role in environment and natural heritage, crofting, forestry, aquaculture, sport fishing, land reform, access, water quality regulation, sustainable development and climate change.{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Scottish-Cabinet |title=Scottish Executive - Scottish Cabinet and Ministers |publisher=Scottish Executive |accessdate=2007-07-25}} In 2010, Climate Change was added to the Environment portfolio becoming Minister for Environment and Climate Change. Land reform was added to the title in November 2014 after Nicola Sturgeon's first reshuffle on her appointment to First Minister of Scotland.

The Ministerial post was abolished in May 2016 at the beginning of the second Sturgeon government. The duties of the junior Ministerial post were upgraded to full Cabinet Secretary status at that point as the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform.

The final Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform was Roseanna Cunningham.

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!Name

!Entered Office

!Left Office

!Party

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| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|1.

|John Home Robertson

|19 May 1999

|2 November 2000

|Labour

|-

|colspan="6"|

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|2.

|Rhona Brankin

|2 November 2000

|29 November 2001

|Labour

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|colspan="6"|

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|3.

|Allan Wilson

|29 November 2001

|1 October 2004

|Labour

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|4.

|Lewis Macdonald

|1 October 2004

|27 June 2005

|Labour

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|5.

|Rhona Brankin

|27 June 2005

|14 November 2006

|Labour

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish Labour Party}}

|6.

|Sarah Boyack

|14 November 2006

|17 May 2007

|Labour

|-

|colspan="6"|

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|7.

|Michael Russell

|17 May 2007

|12 February 2009

|Scottish National Party

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|8.

|Roseanna Cunningham

|12 February 2009

|11 December 2010

|Scottish National Party

|-

|colspan="6"|

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| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|9.

|Roseanna Cunningham

|11 December 2010

|24 May 2011

|Scottish National Party

|-

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|10.

|Stewart Stevenson

|25 May 2011

|6 September 2012

|Scottish National Party

|-

|-

| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|11.

|Paul Wheelhouse

|6 September 2012

|21 November 2014

|Scottish National Party

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|colspan="6"|

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| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|12.

|Aileen McLeod

|21 November 2014

|18 May 2016

|Scottish National Party

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|colspan="6"|

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| {{party color cell|Scottish National Party}}

|13.

|Roseanna Cunningham

|18 May 2016

|19 May 2021

|Scottish National Party

|}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.gov.scot/About/People/Ministers/Cab-Sec-Environment-ClimateChange-LandReform Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform] on the Scottish Government website

{{Sustainable development in Scotland}}

Environment

Category:Environment of Scotland

Category:Climate change in Scotland

Category:Land reform in Scotland