Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party

Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond, a figurehead of the independence movement, has died at the age of 69, the Scottish National Party (SNP) he once led said Saturday.

Salmond, who led Scotland between 2007 and 2014, took ill after giving a speech in North Macedonia, UK media reported.

"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 photo 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.

- Highs and lows -

Widely recognised as one of the UK's shrewdest and most charismatic politicians of recent times, Salmond turned the SNP from a small party at Westminster into Scotland's dominant political force.

His combative nature saw his fame spread beyond the UK. A dispute with Donald Trump led the former US president to call him "Mad Alex".

His electoral high point was Scotland's devolved parliament's 2011 election, when the SNP achieved what was previously thought impossible by delivering an outright majority.

That win smashed the two-party system of Labour and the Conservatives, transforming the Scottish political landscape.

It also gave him the political weight to press for a referendum on Scottish independence from the UK, which the then British prime minister David Cameron finally granted in 2014.

Salmond had turned what was once a largely academic question into the most important issue in UK politics. But the "yes" campaign for independence lost by 55 percent to 45 percent.

As a result, Salmond quit as leader of Scotland and his party, handing over the reins to Nicola Sturgeon.

He returned to serve as an MP in Westminster but lost his seat at the 2017 general election.

- Tribute from Sturgeon -

Only a year later, he resigned from his party after allegations of rape and sexual assault emerged, resulting in him being charged with 14 offenses.

He was acquitted of all charges after a trial in 2020 -- having already won £500,000 ($653,00) in compensation from the Scottish government over the way it had handled its own investigation.

The affair generated huge animosity between Salmond and his former protege Sturgeon over how she had handled the allegations.

Sturgeon said Saturday that she was "shocked and sorry" to hear the news of his death.

"Obviously, I cannot pretend that the events of the past few years which led to the breakdown of our relationship did not happen, and it would not be right for me to try," she said.

"However, it remains the fact that for many years Alex was an incredibly significant figure in my life.

"He was my mentor, and for more than a decade we formed one of the most successful partnerships in UK politics."

She also acknowledged his key role in bringing Scotland "to the brink of independence".

Salmond later became leader of a new pro-independence party the Alba Party, but it has failed to match the political successes of the SNP.