Kate Elizabeth Forbes (born 1990) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance since 2020. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency since 2016.

Forbes was born in Dingwall in Ross and Cromarty in northern Scotland. Growing up, she spent three years in India, then was taught in a Scottish Gaelic school. She returned to India at the age of 10 and lived there until she was 15, with her father involved in providing healthcare to people who could not afford it. She returned to Glasgow, Scotland and finished her schooling at Dingwall Academy. She read history at Selwyn College, Cambridge, graduating with a BA in 2011, then studied at the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MSc in Diaspora and Migration History in 2013.

After two years of working for Dave Thompson MSP, she studied to become a chartered accountant for two years in 2013, before working for Barclays for two years.

On 6 February 2020, she became the first woman to deliver the Scottish Budget upon Derek Mackay‘s resignation as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work. Prior to this, no woman had delivered a Budget in either the Scottish Parliament or Westminster, although they have in the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies. On 17 February, she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Finance—the first woman to hold the post.

[Source: Wikipedia]