Nicola Sturgeon becomes Scotland's longest serving First Minister

At the time of that vote Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond worked closely together at the heart of the first-ever SNP administration at Holyrood.

Since then her relationship with the man she succeeded has turned sour amid the Scottish Government's botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

While she has reached a new milestone, Ms Sturgeon - who became Scotland's first female first minister when she took on the job in November 2014 - seems unlikely to have little time to celebrate as her government faces criticism over cuts in services by the newly nationalised ScotRail and ongoing questions over the construction of two new ferries for lifeline routes, which are years late and over budget.

READ MORE: Sir Tom Devine: 'Nicola Sturgeon's legacy will be defined by delivery or not of independence'

She revealed on Monday she had been "knocked for six" by Covid-19 after testing positive on Friday having experiencing mild symptoms of the illness. She said she would remain at home for a few days.

Over the coming months, the Scottish Government will also look to pass two of the most controversial Bills in the history of the Scottish Parliament.

The first, the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, is currently making its way through Holyrood and would see the reduction of the minimum age required for a trans person to apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) - which allows for a birth certificate to be changed to reflect acquired gender.

It would also reduce the length of time required for a person to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months, with a further three month reflection period.

While the Bill has received widespread support from the LGBT community - with some even suggesting it does not go far enough - women's groups have raised concerns about the impact of the legislation on the rights of women and girls.

READ MORE: Poll: Nicola Sturgeon remains popular but independence support stuck

Debate around the issue has often become terse between supporters and detractors of reform, with aggressive debates often taking place online.

Ms Sturgeon will also be tasked with shepherding a potentially legally problematic Bill through Holyrood that could fulfil her primary political ambition - Scottish independence.

The referendum Bill, which is yet to be published by the Scottish Government, is expected to pledge a referendum before the end of 2023 - the official government timeline for another vote.

With Downing Street repeatedly digging in their heels over the subject in recent years, it is unlikely the required powers will be devolved to Scotland to hold another referendum, meaning the passage of the Bill - guaranteed thanks to the power-sharing agreement between the SNP and Scottish Greens - could end up in court.

Nicola Sturgeon pictured with her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP chief executive, after being sworn in at the Court of Session as First Minister for the first time on November 20, 2014.  Photo PA.

The Scottish Government would then build a case that the Scotland Act 2016 allows for the Scottish Parliament to legislate for another referendum.

Commenting on the milestone, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Becoming Scotland’s longest serving First Minister is a landmark achievement and one that Nicola Sturgeon can look on with pride.   

“As the country’s first female leader, her tenure has helped make Scotland a better, fairer country for all who live here.

“It has seen a huge expansion of childcare, progress in closing the attainment gap in schools and the access gap to universities, the establishment from scratch of a Scottish welfare system, including game-changing measures to combat child poverty – as well as taking forward world-leading action to tackle climate change.

And under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership we will redouble those efforts in the years to come.  

“All of these policies are helping lay solid foundations for an independent Scotland, and we will now step up the work to deliver independence.

“Of course, the ultimate judges of the First Minister’s leadership are the electorate – and, in election after election, they continue to give her a resounding endorsement.”

However, ppposition party leaders said Ms Sturgeon had failed to tackle major problems during her tenure as First Minister.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, pointed to Scotland’s high drug death figures and her pledge to close the poverty related educational attainment gap by 2026 that was abandoned last week.

He also underlined the delayed procurement of the two ferries, cuts to rail services and an NHS in crisis as he accused the First Minister of being distracted by independence.

“Nicola Sturgeon may be Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister but her record is appalling. Across virtually every policy area, hers is a story of failure and broken promises. But the two that stand out to me are drug deaths and the attainment gap," he said.

“Nicola Sturgeon described closing the education attainment gap between our most and least deprived youngsters as the ‘defining mission’ of her government and yet... her Education Secretary shamefully ditched the pledge last week."

He added: “Instead of healing Scotland after the 2014 referendum her constant push for another vote has split the public, distracted her government and left business in limbo. For these reasons, history will look back on her legacy as extremely damaging for Scotland.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "This is undoubtedly a personal achievement for Nicola Sturgeon - but ultimately she will be judged on her record. ...The legacy of this First Minister will be one of division and building an us vs them culture in our country."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Nicola Sturgeon deserves credit for a long stint of public service and the shift put in during the pandemic. 

“However, it says something that when asked to list the SNP’s achievements, so often members of her own party point to free personal care and free university tuition, both of which predate not just Nicola Sturgeon but the SNP administration entirely. 

“There has been no replacement for the unfair council tax, the attainment gap is as stubbornly wide as ever, a decade of poor workforce planning has left us with record waits for A&E and cancer treatment and she’s launched more independence campaigns than ferries.

“While she hunts for more red meat for the independence faithful, Scotland faces the consequences of seven years of missed opportunities. Scotland needs a moderate, progressive government, Scottish Liberal Democrats will be at the forefront of building that alternative.”