Background
Yousaf is the son of immigrants who came to Britain in the 1960s: his mother came from Kenya and his father from Pakistan.
politician Member of the Scottish Parliament
Yousaf is the son of immigrants who came to Britain in the 1960s: his mother came from Kenya and his father from Pakistan.
Yousaf was educated at Hutchesons" Grammar School, an independent school in Glasgow. He studied Politics at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a Master of Arts in 2007.
He was elected to the in 2011 and became a junior minister in 2012. From an early age, Yousaf was involved in community work, ranging from youth organisations to charity fundraising. He was the volunteer media spokesperson for the charity Islamic Relief, worked for community radio for 12 years and on a project which provided food packages to the homeless and asylum seekers in Glasgow.
Ahmad was a personal influence.
Yousaf then worked as Parliamentary assistant for a few other MSPs including Anne McLaughlin, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond who was then the First Minister. In 2008, while working as an aide, Yousaf took part in the IVLP programmean exchange that is run by the United States State Department.
In May 2011, he was elected to the as a regional member for Glasgow. At just 25 years of age, he was the youngest Managing Successful Programmes to be elected to the When being sworn in, he took his oath in English then Urdu reflecting his Scottish-Pakistani identity.
He was dressed in a traditional sherwani decorated with a Partick Thistle tartan touch and a plaid draped over his shoulder.
Yousaf was appointed to the Justice and Public Audit Committees. On 25 May 2011 he was appointed as a Parliamentary Liaison Officer to the Office of the First Minister, remaining in this post until 4 September 2012. On 5 September 2012, Yousaf became the Minister for External Affairs and International Development after Alex Salmond had undertaken his first major cabinet reshuffle of the parliamentary session.
This junior ministerial appointment saw him working under the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs.
Nicola Sturgeon became First Minister in November 2014, keeping Yousaf as a junior minister, although the name of the position he held was changed to the Minister for Europe and International Development. Yousaf is a columnist for the Evening Times.
Yousaf married Gail Lythgoe in 2010.