Jenny Gilruth

Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth (born 1984) is a Scottish politician who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since 2016.

A native of Aberdeenshire, Gilruth studied in Glasgow at the University of Glasgow and later the University of Strathclyde. After graduating she went on to work as a modern studies teacher in Edinburgh, before later becoming the principal teacher of social subjects at St. Columba's RC High School in Dunfermline. Gilruth marked exams for the SQA and served as the national qualifications development officer at Education Scotland.

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Gilruth was elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid Fife and Glenrothes constituency. She sat on the SNP's backbenches and served successively in the parliament's education, health, justice and social security committees. On 17 February 2020, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon appointed Gilruth to the Scottish Government as the minister for culture, Europe and international development. She was later reshuffled as the transport minister and oversaw the transition of the public ownership of ScotRail. Following Humza Yousaf's appointment as first minister of Scotland, a campaign Gilruth endorsed, she was subsequently appointed to cabinet as the education secretary.