s 20 The Scottish Executive
(1) There shall be a Scottish Executive one of whose members shall be known as the First Secretary and the others as Secretaries of the Scottish Executive. (2) Any reference in this Act or in any Act amended by or under this Act to a Scottish Secretary is a reference to the First Secretary or any of the Secretaries of the Scottish Executive. (3) Subject to subsections (6) and (7) of this section— (a) Scottish Secretaries shall be appointed by the Secretary of State ; and (b) the First Secretary may appoint persons to be assistants to Scottish Secretaries ; and (c) any person appointed under this subsection shall be appointed from among the members of the Assembly. (4) If the Assembly has nominated one of its members for appointment as First Secretary that member shall be so appointed ; and in appointing the other Scottish Secretaries the Secretary of State shall act on the advice of the First Secretary. (5) A Scottish Secretary shall hold office at Her Majesty’s pleasure and an assistant to a Scottish Secretary may be removed from office by the First Secretary. (6) A Scottish Secretary or assistant to a Scottish Secretary who is to perform functions corresponding to functions performed by a Law Officer of the Crown may (whether or not he is to perform also other functions) be appointed notwithstanding that he is not a member of the Assembly, and may then take part in the proceedings of the Assembly but shall not vote. (7) A person appointed (otherwise than in pursuance of subsection (6) of this section) to be a Scottish Secretary or an assistant to a Scottish Secretary shall relinquish his appointment on ceasing to be a member of the Assembly ; but for this purpose a member of the Assembly shall not be treated as ceasing to be such a member on the dissolution of the Assembly if he is again elected at the election following the dissolution. (8) A Scottish Secretary may appoint such officers and servants as he may think appropriate for the exercise of such of the powers mentioned in section 21(1) of this Act as are for the time being exercised by him. c. 51 Scotland Act 1978 (9) A person appointed a Scottish Secretary shall on appointment take the official oath set out in section 3 of the Promissory Oaths Act 1868 and (unless he has taken it on a previous occasion) the oath of allegiance set out in section 2 of that Act (or make the corresponding affirmation).