The Kingdom of Scotland emerged in the 9th century, from the merging of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dál Riata and the Kingdom of the Picts, and continued to exist as an independent sovereign state until 1707. In 1603, James VI inherited England and Ireland, forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain,[20][21] with the Parliament of Scotland subsumed into the Parliament of Great Britain. In 1999, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy.[22] The head of the Scottish Government is the first minister. [23] Scotland is represented in the United Kingdom Parliament by 59 members of parliament (MPs). Scotland is a member of the British–Irish Council,[24] the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly[25] and the Heads of Government Council. [26]