diff --git a/mysql-test/suite/rpl/r/rpl_gtid_stop_start.result b/mysql-test/suite/rpl/r/rpl_gtid_stop_start.result
index dcfdc567736..b524ab17c23 100644
--- a/mysql-test/suite/rpl/r/rpl_gtid_stop_start.result
+++ b/mysql-test/suite/rpl/r/rpl_gtid_stop_start.result
@@ -50,5 +50,15 @@ a
 3
 4
 5
+*** Test that @@gtid_slave_pos and @@gtid_current_pos are correctly loaded even if slave threads have not started. ***
+SET @slave_pos2= @@GLOBAL.gtid_slave_pos;
+SET @current_pos2= @@GLOBAL.gtid_current_pos;
+SELECT IF(@slave_pos1=@slave_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@slave_pos1, " != ", @slave_pos2));
+IF(@slave_pos1=@slave_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@slave_pos1, " != ", @slave_pos2))
+OK
+SELECT IF(@current_pos1=@current_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@current_pos1, " != ", @current_pos2));
+IF(@current_pos1=@current_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@current_pos1, " != ", @current_pos2))
+OK
+include/start_slave.inc
 DROP TABLE t1;
 include/rpl_end.inc
diff --git a/mysql-test/suite/rpl/t/rpl_gtid_stop_start.test b/mysql-test/suite/rpl/t/rpl_gtid_stop_start.test
index 0833dfe1224..cc1da6b3c85 100644
--- a/mysql-test/suite/rpl/t/rpl_gtid_stop_start.test
+++ b/mysql-test/suite/rpl/t/rpl_gtid_stop_start.test
@@ -93,6 +93,31 @@ INSERT INTO t1 VALUES(5);
 --source include/wait_condition.inc
 SELECT * FROM t1 ORDER BY a;
 
+--echo *** Test that @@gtid_slave_pos and @@gtid_current_pos are correctly loaded even if slave threads have not started. ***
+--let $slave_pos1= `SELECT @@GLOBAL.gtid_slave_pos`
+--let $current_pos1= `SELECT @@GLOBAL.gtid_current_pos`
+
+--write_file $MYSQLTEST_VARDIR/tmp/mysqld.2.expect
+wait
+EOF
+--shutdown_server 30
+--source include/wait_until_disconnected.inc
+
+--append_file $MYSQLTEST_VARDIR/tmp/mysqld.2.expect
+restart: --skip-slave-start=1 --skip-log-bin
+EOF
+--enable_reconnect
+--source include/wait_until_connected_again.inc
+--disable_query_log
+eval SET @slave_pos1= "$slave_pos1";
+eval SET @current_pos1= "$current_pos1";
+--enable_query_log
+SET @slave_pos2= @@GLOBAL.gtid_slave_pos;
+SET @current_pos2= @@GLOBAL.gtid_current_pos;
+SELECT IF(@slave_pos1=@slave_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@slave_pos1, " != ", @slave_pos2));
+SELECT IF(@current_pos1=@current_pos2, "OK", CONCAT(@current_pos1, " != ", @current_pos2));
+--source include/start_slave.inc
+
 
 --connection server_1
 DROP TABLE t1;
diff --git a/sql/mysqld.cc b/sql/mysqld.cc
index 1102a527546..eb102696f64 100644
--- a/sql/mysqld.cc
+++ b/sql/mysqld.cc
@@ -931,7 +931,8 @@ static PSI_cond_info all_server_conds[]=
 
 PSI_thread_key key_thread_bootstrap, key_thread_delayed_insert,
   key_thread_handle_manager, key_thread_main,
-  key_thread_one_connection, key_thread_signal_hand;
+  key_thread_one_connection, key_thread_signal_hand,
+  key_thread_slave_init;
 
 static PSI_thread_info all_server_threads[]=
 {
@@ -956,7 +957,8 @@ static PSI_thread_info all_server_threads[]=
   { &key_thread_handle_manager, "manager", PSI_FLAG_GLOBAL},
   { &key_thread_main, "main", PSI_FLAG_GLOBAL},
   { &key_thread_one_connection, "one_connection", 0},
-  { &key_thread_signal_hand, "signal_handler", PSI_FLAG_GLOBAL}
+  { &key_thread_signal_hand, "signal_handler", PSI_FLAG_GLOBAL},
+  { &key_thread_slave_init, "slave_init", PSI_FLAG_GLOBAL}
 };
 
 PSI_file_key key_file_binlog, key_file_binlog_index, key_file_casetest,
diff --git a/sql/mysqld.h b/sql/mysqld.h
index 9c9bf71fec8..02d6b41cf69 100644
--- a/sql/mysqld.h
+++ b/sql/mysqld.h
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ extern PSI_cond_key key_TC_LOG_MMAP_COND_queue_busy;
 
 extern PSI_thread_key key_thread_bootstrap, key_thread_delayed_insert,
   key_thread_handle_manager, key_thread_kill_server, key_thread_main,
-  key_thread_one_connection, key_thread_signal_hand;
+  key_thread_one_connection, key_thread_signal_hand, key_thread_slave_init;
 
 extern PSI_file_key key_file_binlog, key_file_binlog_index, key_file_casetest,
   key_file_dbopt, key_file_des_key_file, key_file_ERRMSG, key_select_to_file,
diff --git a/sql/rpl_rli.cc b/sql/rpl_rli.cc
index 03ec77e1433..9cb210f398f 100644
--- a/sql/rpl_rli.cc
+++ b/sql/rpl_rli.cc
@@ -1425,7 +1425,10 @@ rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(THD *thd)
 
   bitmap_set_all(table->read_set);
   if ((err= table->file->ha_rnd_init_with_error(1)))
+  {
+    table->file->print_error(err, MYF(0));
     goto end;
+  }
   table_scanned= true;
   for (;;)
   {
@@ -1440,7 +1443,10 @@ rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(THD *thd)
       else if (err == HA_ERR_END_OF_FILE)
         break;
       else
+      {
+        table->file->print_error(err, MYF(0));
         goto end;
+      }
     }
     domain_id= (ulonglong)table->field[0]->val_int();
     sub_id= (ulonglong)table->field[1]->val_int();
@@ -1465,6 +1471,7 @@ rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(THD *thd)
       if (!(entry= (struct local_element *)my_malloc(sizeof(*entry),
                                                      MYF(MY_WME))))
       {
+        my_error(ER_OUTOFMEMORY, MYF(0), (int)sizeof(*entry));
         err= 1;
         goto end;
       }
@@ -1475,12 +1482,18 @@ rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(THD *thd)
       if ((err= my_hash_insert(&hash, (uchar *)entry)))
       {
         my_free(entry);
+        my_error(ER_OUT_OF_RESOURCES, MYF(0));
         goto end;
       }
     }
   }
 
   rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.lock();
+  if (rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.loaded)
+  {
+    rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.unlock();
+    goto end;
+  }
   for (i= 0; i < hash.records; ++i)
   {
     entry= (struct local_element *)my_hash_element(&hash, i);
@@ -1490,14 +1503,15 @@ rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(THD *thd)
                                                  entry->gtid.seq_no)))
     {
       rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.unlock();
+      my_error(ER_OUT_OF_RESOURCES, MYF(0));
       goto end;
     }
     if (opt_bin_log &&
         mysql_bin_log.bump_seq_no_counter_if_needed(entry->gtid.domain_id,
                                                     entry->gtid.seq_no))
     {
-      my_error(ER_OUT_OF_RESOURCES, MYF(0));
       rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.unlock();
+      my_error(ER_OUT_OF_RESOURCES, MYF(0));
       goto end;
     }
   }
diff --git a/sql/share/errmsg-utf8.txt b/sql/share/errmsg-utf8.txt
index f08ba26fa4d..a6a331eeb18 100644
--- a/sql/share/errmsg-utf8.txt
+++ b/sql/share/errmsg-utf8.txt
@@ -6538,7 +6538,7 @@ ER_GTID_OPEN_TABLE_FAILED
 ER_GTID_POSITION_NOT_FOUND_IN_BINLOG
 	eng "Connecting slave requested to start from GTID %u-%u-%llu, which is not in the master's binlog"
 ER_CANNOT_LOAD_SLAVE_GTID_STATE
-	eng "Failed to load replication slave GTID state from table %s.%s"
+	eng "Failed to load replication slave GTID position from table %s.%s"
 ER_MASTER_GTID_POS_CONFLICTS_WITH_BINLOG
 	eng "Specified GTID %u-%u-%llu conflicts with the binary log which contains a more recent GTID %u-%u-%llu. If MASTER_GTID_POS=CURRENT_POS is used, the binlog position will override the new value of @@gtid_slave_pos."
 ER_MASTER_GTID_POS_MISSING_DOMAIN
diff --git a/sql/slave.cc b/sql/slave.cc
index 10411f9a5a5..6b876c5e863 100644
--- a/sql/slave.cc
+++ b/sql/slave.cc
@@ -253,6 +253,66 @@ static void init_slave_psi_keys(void)
 }
 #endif /* HAVE_PSI_INTERFACE */
 
+
+static bool slave_init_thread_running;
+
+
+pthread_handler_t
+handle_slave_init(void *arg __attribute__((unused)))
+{
+  THD *thd;
+
+  my_thread_init();
+  thd= new THD;
+  thd->thread_stack= (char*) &thd;           /* Set approximate stack start */
+  mysql_mutex_lock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  thd->thread_id= thread_id++;
+  mysql_mutex_unlock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  thd->store_globals();
+
+  thd_proc_info(thd, "Loading slave GTID position from table");
+  if (rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(thd))
+    sql_print_warning("Failed to load slave replication state from table "
+                      "%s.%s: %u: %s", "mysql",
+                      rpl_gtid_slave_state_table_name.str,
+                      thd->stmt_da->sql_errno(), thd->stmt_da->message());
+
+  mysql_mutex_lock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  delete thd;
+  mysql_mutex_unlock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  my_thread_end();
+
+  mysql_mutex_lock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  slave_init_thread_running= false;
+  mysql_cond_signal(&COND_thread_count);
+  mysql_mutex_unlock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+
+static int
+run_slave_init_thread()
+{
+  pthread_t th;
+
+  slave_init_thread_running= true;
+  if (mysql_thread_create(key_thread_slave_init, &th, NULL,
+                          handle_slave_init, NULL))
+  {
+    sql_print_error("Failed to create thread while initialising slave");
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  mysql_mutex_lock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+  while (slave_init_thread_running)
+    mysql_cond_wait(&COND_thread_count, &LOCK_thread_count);
+  mysql_mutex_unlock(&LOCK_thread_count);
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+
 /* Initialize slave structures */
 
 int init_slave()
@@ -264,6 +324,9 @@ int init_slave()
   init_slave_psi_keys();
 #endif
 
+  if (run_slave_init_thread())
+    return 1;
+
   /*
     This is called when mysqld starts. Before client connections are
     accepted. However bootstrap may conflict with us if it does START SLAVE.
@@ -3454,6 +3517,16 @@ pthread_handler_t handle_slave_io(void *arg)
   /* This must be called before run any binlog_relay_io hooks */
   my_pthread_setspecific_ptr(RPL_MASTER_INFO, mi);
 
+  /* Load the set of seen GTIDs, if we did not already. */
+  if (rpl_load_gtid_slave_state(thd))
+  {
+    mi->report(ERROR_LEVEL, thd->stmt_da->sql_errno(), 
+                "Unable to load replication GTID slave state from mysql.%s: %s",
+                rpl_gtid_slave_state_table_name.str, thd->stmt_da->message());
+    goto err;
+  }
+
+
   if (RUN_HOOK(binlog_relay_io, thread_start, (thd, mi)))
   {
     mi->report(ERROR_LEVEL, ER_SLAVE_FATAL_ERROR,
diff --git a/sql/sys_vars.cc b/sql/sys_vars.cc
index 75d11589be6..b25f979cf79 100644
--- a/sql/sys_vars.cc
+++ b/sql/sys_vars.cc
@@ -1262,6 +1262,12 @@ Sys_var_gtid_binlog_pos::global_value_ptr(THD *thd, LEX_STRING *base)
   String str(buf, sizeof(buf), system_charset_info);
   char *p;
 
+  if (!rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.loaded)
+  {
+    my_error(ER_CANNOT_LOAD_SLAVE_GTID_STATE, MYF(0), "mysql",
+             rpl_gtid_slave_state_table_name.str);
+    return NULL;
+  }
   str.length(0);
   if ((opt_bin_log && mysql_bin_log.append_state_pos(&str)) ||
       !(p= thd->strmake(str.ptr(), str.length())))
@@ -1308,6 +1314,14 @@ Sys_var_gtid_slave_pos::do_check(THD *thd, set_var *var)
   bool running;
 
   DBUG_ASSERT(var->type == OPT_GLOBAL);
+
+  if (!rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.loaded)
+  {
+    my_error(ER_CANNOT_LOAD_SLAVE_GTID_STATE, MYF(0), "mysql",
+             rpl_gtid_slave_state_table_name.str);
+    return true;
+  }
+
   mysql_mutex_lock(&LOCK_active_mi);
   running= master_info_index->give_error_if_slave_running();
   mysql_mutex_unlock(&LOCK_active_mi);
@@ -1366,6 +1380,13 @@ Sys_var_gtid_slave_pos::global_value_ptr(THD *thd, LEX_STRING *base)
   String str;
   char *p;
 
+  if (!rpl_global_gtid_slave_state.loaded)
+  {
+    my_error(ER_CANNOT_LOAD_SLAVE_GTID_STATE, MYF(0), "mysql",
+             rpl_gtid_slave_state_table_name.str);
+    return NULL;
+  }
+
   str.length(0);
   if (rpl_append_gtid_state(&str, false) ||
       !(p= thd->strmake(str.ptr(), str.length())))