SHONA Robison will replace Kate Forbes as Finance Secretary.

Humza Yousaf’s deputy first minister will take on the second most important job in the Scottish Government, it has been announced.

Forbes was understood to have turned down a job as rural affairs secretary.

Robison was announced as deputy first minister on Tuesday, taking over from John Swinney, who has now left the government.

The Finance Secretary oversees government spending and economic strategy within the limits of the devolved government's powers. 

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf unveils his new cabinet as fresh faces brought to top table

They are responsible for setting taxes as far as the Scottish Government can and take responsibility for government investment and expenditure. 

Robison is a key ally of Yousaf's and has served in government before. 

She was Alex Salmond's social justice secretary in 2014, until she was made health secretary when Nicola Sturgeon took over as first minister. 

She quit that role in 2018 after cancer waiting times reached record highs and returned to government as social justice secretary in 2021.