position_held sandra white
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon ( born 19 July 1970 ) is a Scottish ___MASK60___ who is the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the ___MASK2___ ( SNP ), in office since 2014 . She is the first woman to hold either position . Sturgeon has been a ___MASK24___ since 1999 , first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 , and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 ( known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011 ). Sandra White ( born 17 August 1951 ) is a Scottish ___MASK60___ , the ___MASK2___ MSP for the Glasgow Kelvin constituency . She was previously a list MSP for the Glasgow electoral region since 1999 . Scottish independence is a political aim of various political parties , advocacy groups , and individuals in Scotland ( which is a country of the United Kingdom ) for the country to become an independent ___MASK82___ state . The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a ___MASK82___ country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another ___MASK82___ statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest ___MASK82___ state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union . The First ___MASK36___ of Scotland is the ___MASK65___ of the Scottish Government . The First ___MASK36___ chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation , development and presentation of Scottish Government policy . Additional functions of the First ___MASK36___ include promoting and representing Scotland , in an official capacity , at home and abroad and responsibility for constitutional affairs , as they relate to devolution and the Scottish Government . The ___MASK2___ ( SNP ) is a Scottish nationalist and social - democratic political party in Scotland . The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence . It is the third - largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom , as well as by overall representation in the House of Commons , behind the ___MASK12___ and the Conservative Party , and is the largest party in Scotland , where it dominates both the Scottish Parliament and the country ' s parliamentary delegation to the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Its leader , Nicola Sturgeon , is the current First Minister of Scotland . The Parliament of the United Kingdom , commonly known as the UK Parliament or British Parliament , is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom , British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories . It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories . Its head is the ___MASK82___ of the United Kingdom ( currently Queen Elizabeth II ) and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster , London .