The Minister for Environment and Climate Change is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet unless his / her Cabinet Secretary is absent. The post was created in May 2007 after the appointment of the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 minority administration and the minister reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet responsible for the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The Cabinet Secretary responsibilities include agriculture, fisheries, environment as well as land reform and sustainable...

, who has overall responsibility for the portfolio, and is a member of cabinet. The Minister for Environment and Climate Change takes the lead role in environment and natural heritage, crofting, forestry, aquaculture, sport fishing, land reform, access, water quality regulation, sustainable development

Sustainable development in Scotland

Scotland development in Scotland has a number of distinct strands. The idea of sustainable development was used by the Brundtland Commission which defined it as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." At...

 and climate change.

History

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 Scottish Parliament election, 2007

Scottish Parliament election, 2007

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...

 created the junior post of the Minister for Environment who assists the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment

Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet responsible for the Environment and Rural Affairs department. The Cabinet Secretary responsibilities include agriculture, fisheries, environment as well as land reform and sustainable...

, in the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department

The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department was a civil service department of the Scottish Executive. SEERAD was responsible for the following areas in Scotland: agriculture, rural development, food, the environment and fisheries...

. In 2010 Climate Change was added to the Environment portfolio becoming Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

List of office holders

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change is Stewart Stevenson MSP

Stewart Stevenson

Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish politician who became a member of the Scottish Parliament in 2001....

.

Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Land Reform
Name	Entered Office	Left Office	Party
	1.	John Home Robertson	19 May 1999	2 November 2000	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
Deputy Minister for Rural Development
	2.	Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin is a former Labour Co-operative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Midlothian constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007...	2 November 2000	29 November 2001	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development
	3.	Allan Wilson Allan Wilson (Scottish politician) Allan Wilson is a former Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament. He represented Cunninghame North, a seat which he held between the inaugural Scottish Parliament general election in 1999 until 2007....	29 November 2001	1 October 2004	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	4.	Lewis Macdonald Lewis Macdonald Lewis Macdonald is a Scottish Labour regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland, from 2011. He was MSP for the Aberdeen Central constituency from 1999 until 2011.-Background:...	1 October 2004	27 June 2005	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	5.	Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin Rhona Brankin is a former Labour Co-operative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Midlothian constituency. She was first elected in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007...	27 June 2005	14 November 2006	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	6.	Sarah Boyack Sarah Boyack Sarah Boyack MSP is a Scottish Labour MSP for the Lothian region and formerly constituency MSP for Edinburgh Central in the Scottish Parliament....	14 November 2006	17 May 2007	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
Minister for Environment
	7.	Michael Russell	17 May 2007	12 February 2009	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
	8.	Roseanna Cunningham Roseanna Cunningham Roseanna Cunningham is the Scottish Government's Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, having previously represented Perth.-Early life:Raised in Australia, she returned to Scotland and...	12 February 2009	11 December 2010	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
Minister for Environment and Climate Change
	9.	Roseanna Cunningham Roseanna Cunningham Roseanna Cunningham is the Scottish Government's Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, having previously represented Perth.-Early life:Raised in Australia, she returned to Scotland and...	11 December 2010	24 May 2011	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
	10.	Stewart Stevenson Stewart Stevenson Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish politician who became a member of the Scottish Parliament in 2001....	25 May 2011	Incumbent	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

External links

• Scottish Ministers - the Scottish Cabinet
• Minister for Environment and Climate Change - Scottish Government