Anas Sarwar is to lead the Scottish Labour Party after beating his only contestant Monica Lennon today.
Mr Sarwar, who is an MSP for Glasgow, defeated Monica Lennon by 57.6% to 42.4% and is the first ethnic minority leader of a major political party in the UK.
There are now just ten weeks to go until the Scottish election which to be held on 6 May, with Mr Sarwar hoping to "build a better future for Scotland."
In his acceptance speech posted today, Mr Sarwar called the victory "the greatest honour of his life."
He said: “You haven’t had the Scottish Labour Party you deserve - with rising injustice, inequality and division, I’m sorry we haven’t been good enough.
“That doesn’t say something about me. That says something great about Scotland and its people.”
“I want to say directly to the people of Scotland, I know Labour has a lot of work to do to win back your trust.
“Because if we’re brutally honest, you haven’t had the Scottish Labour Party you deserve.
“With rising injustice, inequality and division, I’m sorry we haven’t been good enough.
“And I will work day and night to change that, so we can build the country we all need.”
Want to be first to know what's going on in Edinburgh? Join our Facebook group All About Edinburgh to stay in the loop and share your stories.
He added: “Today we have elected the first ever ethnic minority leader of a political party in the UK.
“That doesn’t say something about me. That says something great about Scotland and its people.
“But the fight for equality is far from over.
“And I’ll work with all our diverse communities in Scotland to rebuild the country we love.”
Mr Sarwar finished the speech saying: “I’m determined that the Labour Party I lead will always be on your side.
“Because I will be a leader who focuses on what unites our country - not what divides it.
“And together we will build a better future for Scotland.”
