Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond Dies at 69

Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who championed Scottish independence for decades and nearly achieved it, has died at the age of 69.

Salmond, a prominent figure in British politics known for his divisive stances, led the Scottish National Party to near victory in the 2014 independence referendum. He passed away in Ohrid, North Macedonia, where he was attending a cultural diplomacy forum.

“Unfortunately, Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who was one of the panellists at yesterday’s cultural diplomacy forum that was held in Ohrid, died suddenly today,” according to a statement from the office of former North Macedonia President Gjorgje Ivanov.

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

“My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the sudden death of Alex Salmond,” the king said. “His devotion to Scotland drove his decades of public service.”

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party called 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 Scotland’s first minister from 2007 to 2014 and led the Scottish National Party twice, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He led the independence campaign in the 2014 referendum but lost, gaining 45% of the vote. Following the defeat, he resigned from the top job and was replaced by his longtime ally, Nicola Sturgeon.

“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,” Sturgeon said after learning of Salmond’s death. “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 U.K. politics.”

In 2019, Salmond was charged with sexual assault and attempted rape after allegations by nine women who had worked with him as first minister or for the party. Salmond called the charges “deliberate fabrications for a political purpose.” He was acquitted after a trial in March 2020.

A year later, he formed a new party called Alba — the Scottish Gaelic word for Scotland — that made limited progress in Scottish politics and aimed for a new independence referendum regardless of the circumstances.

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.”

Salmond attributed his early interest in Scottish independence to his grandfather and joined the SNP at university in 1973, inspired by his English girlfriend’s teasing of his separatist views.

Salmond’s academic and professional background shaped him into one of Scotland’s most optimistic and visionary politicians. He studied medieval history and economics at St. Andrew’s University. During his 20s, he worked as an economist for Britain’s regional government in Scotland and then at the Royal Bank of Scotland, where he analyzed the North Sea oil industry.

He won a seat in the U.K. Parliament in 1987 and became party leader three years later. He supported Tony Blair’s Labour government in the late 1990s in creating a devolved Scottish parliament in Edinburgh. This reform, while not granting independence, gave Scotland a taste of self-government for the first time since its 1707 union with England. Under this new arrangement, confirmed by a referendum, the Scottish Parliament gained a wide range of domestic powers, including control over policies on health and education, but not over .

Salmond used this public platform to advocate for full independence. His government held significant authority, particularly on social issues, and he persuaded the government of Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron to hold a referendum on independence. The outcome of the referendum remained uncertain until the results were announced.

Despite the defeat of the independence campaign, Salmond’s SNP gained significant support and has dominated Scottish politics since. The SNP has been the Edinburgh-based government since, though it suffered a significant loss in this year’s U.K.-wide general election, losing a majority of its seats in the House of Commons to Labour. The next Scottish election is scheduled for 2026.

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