Former Scotland Leader, Alex Salmond Dies At 69

Scotland’s former leader, Alex Salmond, a figurehead of the independence movement, has lost his life at the age of 69, the Scottish National Party (SNP) he once led announced on Saturday.

Salmond, who led Scotland between 2007 and 2014, was reported by the UK media to have been taken ill after giving a speech in North Macedonia.

“Alex Salmond, former leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland, has died,” the SNP wrote on its official X account, above a black-and-white picture of the politician.

“His leadership brought the SNP into the mainstream and the Scottish government,” it added.

“He was a titan of the independence movement.”

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum for one of Scotland’s most important politicians.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Salmond a “monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics” who “leaves behind a lasting legacy”.

Starmer’s predecessor, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak, said Salmond was “a huge figure in our politics.

“While I disagreed with him on the constitutional question, there was no denying his skill in debate or his passion for politics.”

Scotland’s current First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” at the “untimely death”.

“Alex worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved and for her independence,” he added.

Alexander Eliott Anderson Salmond was born in 1954 in Linlithgow, near Edinburgh. Appropriately, he arrived on Hogmanay — the Scots term for New Year’s Eve, a night of whisky, song, and dance beloved by Scots around the world.

After studying economics and medieval history at St Andrews University, he became an economist with the Royal Bank of Scotland before entering the UK parliament.

In 1990 he took over the leadership of the SNP, moving it to the centre ground, four years before Labour’s Tony Blair did the same.