Alex Salmond, former first minister of Scotland and Alba Party leader, dies aged 69

Alex Salmond, who served as Scotland’s first minister from 2007 to 2014, has died at the age of 69, with figures from across the political spectrum paying tribute to the Alba Party leader following his passing in North Macedonia on Saturday.

The party, which Salmond founded in 2021 and then led until his death, said it is understood the politician suffered a heart attack following a speech at an event in the country, though a post-mortem will be carried out to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Prior to setting up the Alba Party, Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two separate occasions: from 1990 to 2000 and 2004 to 2014, when he resigned following Scotland voting ‘no’ on the issue of independence for which he and the SNP had long campaigned.

He quit the SNP in 2018 amid reports of sexual misconduct, which he denied. He also took the Scottish government to court over its handling of the claims.

Salmond did, however, admit that he was “not a saint”, had ”flaws” and made “many mistakes”.

In March 2020, a jury in Edinburgh returned not guilty verdicts on charges of attempted rape and a series of sexual assaults, acquitting him on 12 charges and returning a ‘not proven’ verdict on a charge of sexual assault with intent to rape.

He has also been branded a "transphobe" over his remarks on trans rights, making headlines in February last year for criticising gender recognition laws and describing self-identification - that is, allowing an individual to identify as their "chosen" gender - as a "daft ideology imported from elsewhere".

Salmond’s last words on Twitter/X, shared on Saturday afternoon, related to the issue of Scottish independence, with the politician writing that John Swinney, the first minister of Scotland, should have declined an invitation to join UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s Council of the Nations and Regions meeting and stressed “Scotland is a country not a county”.

Swinney himself paid tribute to Salmond by praising his “enormous contribution to political life”.

“Alex worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved and for her Independence. He took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into Government and led Scotland so close to becoming an independent country,” he said.

Starmer, meanwhile, branded the former first minister a “monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics” and said he “leaves behind a lasting legacy”.

He added: “As First Minister of Scotland he cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history, and culture, as well as the communities he represented as MP and MSP over many years of service.”

Nicola Sturgeon, who succeeded him as first minister and SNP leader and was his deputy when he led the party in 2004, described Salmond as a “mentor”.

Other political figures and journalists have also paid tribute:

Kenny MacAskill, the Alba Party’s deputy leader, said the party “grieves the loss of their founder and leader”.

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