This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.
On Thursday night, the great and good of Scottish politics will gather at Edinburgh's Prestonfield House for the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards in association with ScottishPower.
Kate Forbes, John Swinney and Anas Sarwar are all up for the main prize.
The Herald's Political Correspondent Hannah Brown profiles the Deputy First Minister and her chances.
At age 34, she’s Scotland’s Deputy First Minister. If I were the other guys, I’d be worried.
After being elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016, Kate Forbes enjoyed a rapid rise to become Scotland's first female finance secretary in 2020, but was narrowly defeated in last year's SNP leadership contest by Humza Yousaf.
When she was finance minister, she stepped in to deliver a Scottish budget last minute and proved she was capable of the challenge.
Although she considered another bid for FM after Mr Yousaf stepped down, she pulled out and backed the current First Minister John Swinney. As a thanks, Mr Swinney returned her to the front benches as his deputy.
All of this whilst having a young family. She’s spoken about the lack of provisions for those with childcare responsibilities in Holyrood and one of the first SNP campaigns she was involved in was to address the gender pay gap around employment in the Highlands.
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A former chartered accountant, Ms Forbes gained admiration from those in her own party and beyond for her understanding of the economy and her strategy to ensure growth.
Her controversy? The Deputy First Minister has one (for some, a major) issue. Her socially conservative beliefs. But for politicians, to uphold democracy, a separation must be made between private and public. Ms Forbes has proven she is able to do this.
Ms Forbes suggested rules to protect people from harassment whilst entering abortion clinics were potentially “illiberal”, adding “you cannot ban prayer.” Although expressing these personal views, she voted for anti-abortion buffer zones this year, allowing for women to seek abortion care without facing intimidation and harassment.
Despite saying she believed gay marriage was "wrong", the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP has also said she would not seek to overturn gay marriage laws and has apologised for any "pain" her comments have caused.
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The Deputy First Minister still has her critics as a result of these views though and the Scottish Greens have repeatedly voiced their concerns around her involvement in government.
In spite of this, Ms Forbes managed to establish good relations with businesses in Scotland and she’s also stopped a civil war from erupting in her party.
I don’t know any MSP who would not describe Ms Forbes as anything less than impressive. Divisive, sure, but she’s an impressive debater, quick-witted and smart with economics.
Interviewing the Deputy First Minister, she’s professional, engaged and quick on her feet. A breath of fresh air when many politicians churn out the same lines which don’t answer your questions.
The marmite of Holyrood but no one is denying she makes for fierce competition. So Mr Swinney and Mr Sarwar, as you prepare for The Herald awards, all I can say is...you've been warned.
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