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Dewar government
1st government of Scotland
1999–2000
Date formed	17 May 1999
Date dissolved	11 October 2000
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
First Minister	Donald Dewar
First Minister's history	1999–2000
Deputy First Minister	Jim Wallace
Member parties	Labour Party   Liberal Democrats
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition) 72 / 129 (56%)
Opposition party	Scottish National Party
Opposition leader	Alex Salmond (1999-2000) John Swinney (2000)
History
Election	1999 general election
Legislature term	1st Scottish Parliament
Successor	McLeish government

Donald Dewar formed the Dewar government on 17 May 1999 following his appointment as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland. The first devolved executive of Scotland, it consisted of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who formed a coalition on 14 May 1999. The government dissolved and was succeeded by the McLeish government in the aftermath of Dewar's death on 11 October 2000.

Cabinet

May 1999 to October 2000

Cabinet of Donald Dewar

Portfolio	Portrait	Minister	Term	Party
Cabinet ministers
First Minister		The Rt Hon Donald Dewar MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Deputy First Minister		Jim Wallace QC MSP	1999–2005		Lib Dem
Minister for Justice			1999–2003
Minister for Finance		Jack McConnell MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Minister for Health and Community Care		Susan Deacon MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Minister for Communities		Wendy Alexander MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Minister for Transport and the Environment		Sarah Boyack MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning		Henry McLeish MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Minister for Rural Affairs		Ross Finnie MSP	1999–2000		Lib Dem
Minister for Children and Education		Sam Galbraith MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Also attending cabinet meetings
Permanent Secretary		Muir Russell	1999–2003		Independent
Chief Whip and Government Business Manager		Tom McCabe MSP	1999–2000		Labour
Lord Advocate		The Rt Hon Colin Boyd QC	2000–2006		Labour

Changes

• Lord Hardie unexpectedly resigned from his post as Lord Advocate on 17 February 2000. The post was filled by the then Solicitor General, Colin Boyd, who was in turn replaced by Neil Davidson.

Junior ministers

References

1. "Scottish coalition deal unveiled". BBC News. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
2. "'Father of nation' dies". BBC News. 11 October 2000. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
3. "Scottish coalition deal in full". BBC News. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
4. "'Second 11' revealed by Dewar". BBC News. 18 May 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
5. "Dewar mixes old and new faces". BBC News. 18 May 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
6. "Scottish Ministers". 11 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 November 1999. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
7. "Swift response over Hardie resignation". BBC News. 17 February 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
8. "Ministers, Law Officers and Ministerial Parliamentary Aides by Cabinet: Session 1" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2017.

v t e Scottish Parliaments and Governments
1st Parliament (1999–2003)	Dewar (1999–2000) McLeish (2000–2001) McConnell I (2001–2003)
2nd Parliament (2003–2007)	McConnell II (2003–2007)
3rd Parliament (2007–2011)	Salmond I (2007–2011)
4th Parliament (2011–2016)	Salmond II (2011–2014) Sturgeon I (2014–2016)
5th Parliament (2016–2021)	Sturgeon II (2016–2021)
6th Parliament (2021–2026)	Sturgeon III (2021–2023) Yousaf I (2023–2024) Yousaf II (2024) Swinney (2024–present)

• Scottish governments
• 1999 establishments in Scotland
• 2000 disestablishments in Scotland
• Coalition governments of the United Kingdom
• Ministries of Elizabeth II