JOHN Swinney would be expected to take over as acting First Minister if Nicola Sturgeon stands down from the role.
Fiercely loyal to Ms Sturgeon, the MSP for Perthshire North is Deputy First Minster and acting finance secretary while Kate Forbes is on maternity leave.
However, the First Minister indicated this morning that she would remain in the role until a successor as SNP leader is elected.
"Today I am announcing my intention to step down as first minister and leader of my party," Nicola Sturgeon said. "I will remain in office until my successor is elected."
She later told journalists a timetable for the SNP contest would be set out by the party's National Executive Committee in the coming days.
She declined to name a preferred successor saying her party had considerable talent.
Mr Swinney has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021.
He deputises for Ms Sturgeon at First Minister's Questions if she is engaged in business elsewhere.
Mr Swinney was SNP leader from 2000 to 2004 and served as education secretary from 2016 to 2021 and as finance secretary from 2007 to 2016.
He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011.
Mr Swinney previously served as MP for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001. He was elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament in 1999.
After Alex Salmond resigned the party leadership in 2000, Mr Swinney was party leader as leader of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Swinney's leadership quickly came under challenge. In 2002, Dorothy-Grace Elder, the SNP MSP for the Glasgow region, resigned her party membership after coming dissatisfied with the leadership of the SNP while Margo MacDonald also voiced of her lack of confidence in his leadership.
His leadership ultimately proved ineffectual, with a loss of one MP in 2001 and a further reduction to 27 MSPs in 2003 despite the officegate scandal unseating previous First Minister Henry McLeish.
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