Nicola Sturgeon led SNP to new heights after referendum disappointment

Nicola Sturgeon has won plaudits for taking the SNP to new heights following defeat in 2014's independence referendum and the resignation of Alex Salmond.

The bitter disappointment felt by the party was soothed when she took on the leadership, guiding the SNP to a stunning victory in Scotland in the 2015 general election.

During that campaign, Ms Sturgeon was feted as a prospective kingmaker as polls predicted a hung parliament.

It put her under intense scrutiny throughout the UK, with some in England lamenting the fact she was not in the running to be Prime Minister.

The Conservative majority robbed her of the opportunity to cut a deal with Labour and create her proposed ''progressive alliance'', but a record-smashing 56 seats was no small consolation, cementing her position at the top of Scottish politics.

Her personal popularity ratings remain high and the government she leads is almost equally as popular.

Ms Sturgeon, who is married to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was appointed Deputy First Minister when the SNP came to power in 2007.

During her time as Health Secretary she won praise for her handling of the swine flu outbreak, but she was switched to a new brief in 2012 which gave her a key role in the independence referendum.

Immediately after the appointment she took charge of talks with the Scotland Office to thrash out a deal over the staging of the vote, and she appended her signature to the Edinburgh Agreement which paved the way for a legally-binding referendum.

Born in the North Ayrshire town of Irvine, she was educated locally before studying law at Glasgow University, going on to work as a solicitor at an advice centre in the Drumchapel area of the city.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon arrives at a Scottish Parliament election count at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow | © PA

She was the youngest candidate in Scotland when she first stood for Westminster in the 1992 general election, fighting the Glasgow Shettleston seat.

Ms Sturgeon tried again to win a seat in the Commons when she stood for election in 1997 - the year Tony Blair swept to power, wiping out the Tories in Scotland. The Glasgow Govan seat she contested was the only one north of the border to see a swing away from Labour.

Two years later the first Holyrood election was held. She was one of the new MSPs, representing the Glasgow region at first but later winning Glasgow Govan, then the Glasgow Southside seat in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Holyrood gave her a greater chance to shine, with Ms Sturgeon taking on frontbench posts within the party, speaking on issues such as justice and later health.

In 2004, when John Swinney quit as SNP leader, she threw her hat into the ring for the top job.

Nicola Sturgeon celebrates after retaining her seat at a Scottish Parliament election count at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow | © PA

But when Mr Salmond announced he would stand for a second time - he had led the nationalists for a decade between 1990 and 2000 - she became his running mate, standing for the position of deputy leader, with the pair proving to be a winning combination.

Ms Sturgeon was long viewed as the heir apparent to Mr Salmond, and while some once questioned whether she could emerge from his shadow, few would now argue she has not outshone him.

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