Nicola Sturgeon gave a reading at a remembrance service in Edinburgh as in armed conflict.
The First Minister laid a wreath at the Stone of Remembrance at the City Chambers with Lord Provost Frank Ross, before attending the service at St Giles' Cathedral.
Memorials took place across the country on Remembrance Sunday, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney attending a service at the Cenotaph war memorial in Glasgow's George Square.
The SNP's Ian Blackford was present at the service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, while veterans minister Graeme Dey attended a service on board HMS Unicorn in Dundee.
Ms Sturgeon said: "Remembrance Sunday is a chance for us all to pause and commemorate those who gave their lives during conflicts over the last century, as well as paying tribute to our veterans and people still serving in the armed forces.
"Eighty years on from the outbreak of the Second World War it is particularly important that we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.
"On behalf of the people of Scotland I am privileged to be able to lay a wreath today."
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: "On Remembrance Sunday every year, we reflect not on the glory of war - but on the huge sacrifice that was made so that we can stay free.
"Many families in Scotland lost loved ones in the First World War and the Second World War.
"We all have a responsibility to remember the sacrifice they made, and to hold the families they have left behind in our thoughts.
"Let us resolve once again to think about how we can build and sustain peace in the future, while never forgetting the sacrifices of the past."
In London the Queen joined senior royals and politicians to honour the war dead at the Cenotaph memorial on Whitehall.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour's Jeremy Corbyn attended services with Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.
Thousands joined cabinet ministers, religious leaders and representatives of Commonwealth nations, as well as hundreds of armed forces personnel.
