Mairi McAllan said she will take leave from July this year (Picture: Getty)
A minister in the Scottish government is ‘delighted’ to be four months pregnant with her first baby.
Economy secretary Mairi McAllan, 31, said she would take leave from her post in July and return again in March next year, making her the second cabinet secretary to take maternity leave.
‘There was only so much longer I could hold in my stomach at work before letting people know,’ she told the Sunday Mail newspaper.
Revealing the news, she said: ‘My husband Iain and I are delighted that we are expecting our first child in the summer, and very much look forward to welcoming this new addition to our family.’
She said she would remain ‘laser focused’ on her Wellbeing, Economy, Net Zero and Energy portfolio until the summer.
‘I hope my example will send a strong signal to all women and girls, and to Scotland more generally, that starting a family should never be a barrier to holding senior positions within any organisation and that, as a nation, we are stronger when our politics and government reflect our society,’ she said.
Mairi McAllan (left) will be the second cabinet member to take maternity leave (Picture: PA)
‘I think it means a lot to women to see you can be in a leadership position in government and a 31-years-old mum at the same time and balance those two things.’
She married childhood sweetheart Iain Renwick at the Biggar Kirk in South Lanarkshire last August.
In August 2022, Kate Forbes became the first cabinet secretary to take maternity leave following the birth of her daughter, Naomi.
Ms McAllan said First Minister Humza Yousaf has been ‘excellent’ about her pregnancy.
She became the economy secretary earlier this month after Neil Gray was appointed health secretary following the resignation of Michael Matheson.
Previously, she had been the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition after she was appointed to the job in Mr Yousaf’s first cabinet.
The First Minister said: ‘I want to offer my very best wishes and congratulations to Mairi, Iain, and their family on this fantastic news, I am incredibly happy for them all.
‘I am pleased Mairi has agreed to remain Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy while on leave, and take up her duties again upon her return after spending some treasured time with the exciting new addition to her family.’
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