The former MP and MSP fell ill while giving a speech in North Macedonia.
Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who for decades championed Scotland’s independence from the U.K., has died. He was 69.
Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, on Saturday confirmed Salmond’s death and said Salmond was a “central figure in politics for over three decades.”
Salmond, as then leader of the Scottish National Party, led the independence campaign in the referendum in 2014 but lost, gaining 45% of the vote.
Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum, with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling him a “monumental figure” of both Scottish and British politics.
“He leaves behind a lasting legacy,” Starmer said. “As first minister of Scotland, he cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history, and culture, as well as the communities he represented.”
Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014, and was leader of the Scottish National Party on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000, and from 2004 to 2014.
As the leader of the Scottish National Party, Salmond led the independence campaign in the referendum in 2014 but lost, gaining 45% of the vote.
He resigned from the SNP in 2018 in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. He subsequently formed a new party called Alba.
The current SNP first minister, John Swinney, said that he was “deeply shocked and saddened at the untimely death” of Salmond.
“Over many years, Alex made an enormous contribution to political life, not just within Scotland, but across the U.K. and beyond,” he said.
“He took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into government and led Scotland so close to becoming an independent country.”
Former U.K. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that 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,” Sunak said on X. “May he rest in peace.”
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