Former Scottish leader Alex Salmond dead at 69, officials say

• Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who championed Scottish independence, has died at the age of 69.
• Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called Salmond a “monumental figure” in British politics.
• Mr Salmond was First Minister from 2007 to 2014, and was leader of the Scottish National Party for two separate periods.

Alex Salmond, the former Scottish First Minister who spent decades championing and almost achieving Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom, has died. He was 69 years old.

Mr Salmond, one of the most polarizing figures in British politics in the early part of this century and the leader of the Scottish National Party who led Scotland to the brink of independence in a 2014 referendum, died in Lake North Macedonia. -The resort town of Ohrid, as reported by local media.

A statement from the office of former North Macedonian President Djordje Ivanov said: “Sadly, former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who was one of the panellists at the Cultural Diplomacy Forum held in Ohrid yesterday, passed away suddenly today.” About.

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Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum, led by Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla.

The King said: “My wife and I are deeply saddened to hear of the sudden death of Alex Salmond.'' “His dedication to Scotland was the driving force behind his decades of public service.”

Labour's UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called him a “monumental figure” in Scottish and British politics.

“He left a lasting legacy,” Starmer said. “As Scotland’s first minister, he cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history, culture and the communities he represented.”

Mr Salmond served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 and twice as leader of the Scottish National Party, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. Mr Salmond led an independence movement in the 2014 referendum, but lost, gaining more votes. He won 45% of the vote, but then resigned from the top job and was replaced by his long-time ally Nicola Sturgeon. The ensuing split between the two dominated Scottish politics for many years.

After learning of Ms Salmond's death, Ms Sturgeon said: “Obviously I cannot act as if the events of the past few years that led to the breakdown of our relationship had not happened, and it is beyond me to try to do so.'' It's not the right thing to do.” “But the fact remains that over the years Alex has been a very important person in my life. He has been my mentor and for over a decade we have had one of the most successful partnerships in British politics. formed one of the

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In 2019, Mr Salmond was charged with sexual assault and attempted rape following accusations from nine women he had worked with as prime minister or for the party. Mr Salmond called the charges a “deliberate fabrication for political purposes”. Salmond was acquitted following a trial in March 2020.

A year later, he founded a new party called Alba (Scottish Gaelic for Scotland), which made little inroads into Scottish politics and called for a new independence referendum at all costs. .

Alex Salmond stands at Stirling Castle to mark the launch of the party's Mid Scotland Fife campaign ahead of the Scottish Parliament election on April 13, 2021. (Andrew Milligan/Pennsylvania via AP)

Current SNP leader John Swinney said he was “deeply shocked and saddened by Mr Salmond's untimely death”.

“Over the years, Alex has made a huge contribution to political life in Scotland, across the UK and beyond.” “He brought the Scottish National Party, which had been on the fringes of Scottish politics, into government and moved Scotland closer to becoming an independent country.''

Mr Salmond said he learned about the dream of Scottish independence at his grandfather's knees and chose to join the SNP at university in 1973 after his British girlfriend teased him so much about his separatist feelings. .

Salmond's academic and professional background enabled him to become Scotland's most economically optimistic and far-sighted politician. At the University of St. Andrews. He double majored in medieval history and economics, reflecting his love of lost Caledonia. In his twenties, he worked as an economist, first for British local government in Scotland, and then for the Royal Bank of Scotland, analyzing North Sea oil, the country's most active industry.

Alex Salmond speaks at the SNP conference in Glasgow on October 14, 2016. (via Jane Barlow/PA)

He won a seat in the British Parliament in 1987 and became party leader within three years. He supported Tony Blair's Labor government in the late 1990s, which created a devolved Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, but although the reforms did not lead to independence, the country was given self-government for the first time since its union with England in 1707. gave it a taste. Under the new settlement approved in a referendum, the Scottish Parliament will have broad domestic powers, including policy on health and education, but no foreign policy powers.

Salmond then held a very public forum to promote his dream of full independence, and as his government had varying powers, particularly on social issues, he asked Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's government to They succeeded in persuading them to hold a vote. Until the results were known, the situation was considered to be a close call.

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Although the independence movement lost, Mr Salmond's SNP capitalized on that support and has dominated Scottish politics ever since. Since then, the SNP has been in government based in Edinburgh, but it suffered a disaster in this year's general election, losing most of its seats in the House of Commons to Labor. The next Scottish election is due to take place in 2026.