Tributes have been paid to Scotland’s former First Minister Alex Salmond, who campaigned tirelessly for Scottish independence, following his death on Saturday at the age of 69.
Salmond died of a suspected heart attack at a conference in North Macedonia, shocking the political world in the UK. He had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum and is understood to have collapsed at lunch in a crowded room.
Salmond led the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) in the 1990s and again between 2004 and 2014, taking the party into government for the first time and galvanising the movement for independence north of the border.
He resigned as first minister after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum resulted in a 55 to 45 percent vote to stay in the union with the UK—a huge personal disappointment for Salmond, although he famously vowed that while his time as leader was up, “For Scotland, the dream shall never die.”
‘Formidable Politician’
In a statement released through the Alba party, Salmond’s family said he was “a devoted and loving husband, a fiercely loyal brother, a proud and thoughtful uncle and a faithful and trusted friend.”The family said: “Alex was a formidable politician, an amazing orator, an outstanding intellect and admired throughout the world.
“He loved meeting people and hearing their stories and showed incredible kindness to those who needed it. He dedicated his adult life to the cause he believed in—independence for Scotland.”
They added: “In our darkest of family moments, he was always the one who got us through, making this time even more difficult, as he is not here for us to turn to. His resilience and optimism knew no bounds.
“He led us to believe in better. Without Alex, life will never be the same again. But he would want us to continue with his life’s work for independence, and for justice, and that is what we shall do.”
‘Lasting Legacy’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement: “For more than 30 years, Alex Salmond was a monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics. He leaves behind a lasting legacy.“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.
“My thoughts are with those who knew him, his family and his loved ones. On behalf of the UK government, I offer them our condolences today.”
Sunak added: “While I disagreed with him on the constitutional question, there was no denying his skill in debate or his passion for politics. May he rest in peace.”
Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney said that Salmond, “took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into government and led Scotland so close to becoming an independent country”.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Swinney said that as well as leaving a lasting footprint on Scottish politics, Salmond “inspired a generation” to believe in independence.
Asked about Salmond’s break with the SNP, and the “bitterness” that arose between Salmond and Sturgeon in the past few years, the first minister said: “Obviously, it’s been a very difficult few years, and there will be time to reflect on all of those issues in the days to come. But I think today, I think all of us can recognise the formidable contribution that Alex Salmond made.”
‘To the Brink’ of Independence
Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged the “breakdown” of her relationship with Salmond, but praised him for taking Scotland to the “brink of independence.”“He was my mentor, and for more than a decade we formed one of the most successful partnerships in UK politics,” she said in a statement.
Humza Yousaf, former first minister and SNP leader from 2023 to 2024, also paid tribute, saying: “Alex and I obviously had our differences in the last few years, but there’s no doubt about the enormous contribution he made to Scottish and UK politics.
“As well as helping to transform the SNP into the dominant political force it is today.”
In recent years, Salmond was locked in a bitter legal battle with the government he formerly led, winning more than £500,000 damages in court after it was found an investigation into harassment complaints against him was “tainted by apparent bias.”
In November 2023, Salmond announced his intention to take further action, warning that a “day of reckoning” for the Scottish Government was coming as he named his successor as first minister—his former political protegee—Nicola Sturgeon and ex-permanent secretary Leslie Evans in the case, accusing both of “misfeasance.”
At the time the case was launched, then-First Minister Yousaf said the Scottish Government would defend itself “robustly.”
Legal Battles
The legal issues in the latter years of Salmond’s life—which saw him cleared in the High Court of a number of sexual offences including attempted rape—had “put a huge pall over the last several years of this great man’s life and, who knows, it might even have accelerated his death, I don’t know, I can’t comment on that," the Conservative MP Sir David Davis told BBC Scotland.“I want to see this exposed, so that the Scottish Government is forced to answer questions on this matter,” added Davis, a close friend of Salmond’s.
Davis said he has pushed the Foreign Office to use RAF planes to repatriate Salmond’s body from Macedonia to Scotland with “both dignity and expedition.”
While it is thought that Salmond died of a heart attack, there will be a post-mortem examination to establish his cause of death.
Mark Donfried, director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, said he had witnessed Salmond’s collapse at the conference.
“He was here the last few days, he gave excellent participation two days ago at the panel discussion,” he said.
“He was really in the best of spirits, the best of health, and I was sitting across from him at lunch yesterday when all of a sudden he just went out and fell into the arms of a colleague of mine on the other side of the table.
“I immediately got up and ran to call an ambulance and when I came back, he was on the floor.”
