As Humza Yousaf returns to speak for the first time in the Scottish Parliament today after his dramatic resignation, following the collapse of the Bute House Agreement, many in Holyrood are wondering what lies ahead for him in his career.
Still only 39, and an SNP MSP since 2011, there is talk that the ambitious former first minister may at some point wish to forge a career outside front line Scottish politics, possibly in the world of humanitarian relief, international relations or support for refugees.
Officially he has not made any suggestions that he is seeking a career outside of Holyrood. He has not given any major interviews since he stepped down as First Minister and the SNP told The Herald he is not be available for interviews for "the next few weeks".
Palestine is the subject of his first address today to fellow MSPs since his farewell statement to them back on May 7 when John Swinney succeeded him as SNP leader and First Minister without a contest.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf to address Holyrood for first time since exit
Mr Yousaf will call for the Scottish Parliament to urge the UK Government to give "immediate recognition to the state of Palestine" when he leads his member's debate this afternoon.
It is a cause close to his heart after his parents-in-law were trapped while visiting family members in Gaza as it came under bombardment from the Israeli military as revenge for the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Since the start of the war, 37431 people have been killed in Gaza including 15000 children, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health. while the 1,139 lives have been lost in Israel.
During his career at the top of government, Mr Yousaf received praise across the political divide of how he responded during a time of immense worry for him and his family.
READ MORE: Foreign diplomats eye Nicola Sturgeon for role on world stage
He was also respected for attending a service of solidarity at Giffnock Newton Mearns Synagogue for Bernard Cowan, a Scot killed in the Hamas attack, comforting Mr Cowan's mother while his wife Nadia's parents were stuck in Gaza. The couple eventually managed to make it to safety to Egypt and return to Scotland.
Mr Yousaf and Mr Cowan’s mother were pictured embracing each other during the service and he told Mr Cowan's family “your grief is my grief”.
And during his 13 months in the top job - when his party was rocked by the ongoing police investigation into its finances - he managed to take a lead in work to put Scotland and humanitarian causes on the map in the international arena.
READ MORE: Harvie: I don't bear any grudges towards Humza Yousaf
He attended the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year, announcing £2.5m over the next five years to support a fund which supports global action on the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
During his visit to the UN he also met with the director general of the WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - the first First Minister of Scotland to do so.
And while in New York his photograph glossed the cover of the magazine Time. "Meet Humza Yousaf, the new face of Scotland", the interview with him inside the publication declared.
So could an international role beckon for Mr Yousaf?
Dr Patrick Theiner, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Edinburgh University, said the relative brevity of Mr Yousaf's time in the role of First Minister could be a disadvantage.
"Mr Yousaf just has not had enough time to establish the necessary international profile despite some notable contributions. His appearance at the UN and feature in Time magazine are commendable, but do not match the diplomatic engagements and international recognition that his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon achieved over her years in office," he said.
"He also does not have the domestic track record - notable policies or election victories - to force a UK government's hand. And he is now no longer in a position to significantly elevate either his domestic or international profile under his own power."
However, the academic did suggest his work on Palestine could be a route to a new international role for Mr Yousaf.
"The only opening I see is one that [he] leverages his personal connections to Palestine, and he's been rightly praised for his position in the past months," he added.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article