Perhaps there is something in the whisky, but modern Scotland has developed a canny habit of producing outstanding female leaders. Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister since 2014, dominates the nation’s political scene and has governed during the Covid pandemic with authority and integrity. Her toughest competitor has been Ruth Davidson, who resurrected the Scottish Tories, played a central role in keeping the Union together in 2014, and is now a prominent critic of Boris Johnson from her seat in the Lords.
Potentially, though, the best may be yet to come. It’s an open secret that Kate Forbes is the rising power in the land, the Erling Haaland of Holyrood, a prodigy of extravagant gifts and appeal. At 31, she is already powerful: as the SNP’s Economy and Finance Secretary, the devolved equivalent of chancellor, she controls an annual budget of £41bn. Sturgeon sees Forbes as her most likely successor, perhaps in time for the next Scottish parliament election in 2026. Globally, the barriers to being young, female and the boss have fallen away: Finland’s Sanna Marin became prime minister at 34; New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern at 37.
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