Nicola Sturgeon Becomes Leader of Scottish National Party LONDON - After 10 years as deputy leader, Nicola Sturgeon moved into the top job of the pro-independence Scottish National Party on Friday and immediately suggested that the party might seek another referendum on separation from the United Kingdom after the defeat of an independence vote in September. Ms. Sturgeon, 44, was unopposed for the position at a party convention in Perth, Scotland. She will replace Alex Salmond, who announced his resignation as party leader and first minister of Scotland, the head of government, after Scots voted "no" on independence. The party holds a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, and Ms. Sturgeon is expected to be formally elected first minister next week. Known as a tough and effective politician, Ms. Sturgeon studied at Glasgow University and worked as a lawyer before being elected to the Scottish Parliament at the age of 29 in 1999. After her long apprenticeship as deputy, Ms. Sturgeon had no rival for the leadership and takes over a buoyant party. Despite losing in September, the pro-independence campaign has galvanized support for the Scottish National Party, which has increased its membership and is expected to make gains at the expense of the opposition Labour Party in next year's British general election. Ms. Sturgeon's early statements suggested that September's referendum on independence was no longer seen as the once-in-a-lifetime decision it had been portrayed as by both sides leading up to the vote. Speaking to the BBC, Ms. Sturgeon said she believed that Scotland would become independent in her lifetime. "It will be the wishes and the will of the Scottish people that determine if and when there is another referendum," she said. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain has promised, if re-elected next year, to hold a referendum in 2017 on whether to remain in the European Union, and Ms. Sturgeon said this vote could prove to be a trigger for Scots to reassess their constitutional position. She argued that to have a mandate to quit the European Union, there would need to be a majority of votes in all parts of the United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "It would be democratically indefensible for Scotland, or indeed Wales or Northern Ireland, to be taken out of the European Union against our will," she said. Most opinion polls suggest that Scots are less hostile to the European Union than the English are. One task facing Ms. Sturgeon is to negotiate new powers for the Scottish Parliament promised by the main British political parties before the independence referendum in September. In interviews on Friday, Ms. Sturgeon also suggested that a failure to agree on these would stoke demands for another referendum. Asked what the Scottish National Party would do in the event that no party won next year's general election outright, Ms. Sturgeon ruled out a coalition with Mr. Cameron's Conservative Party. Mr. Salmond's future remained unclear, with speculation that he would fight for a seat in the British Parliament next year.