Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond dies

Scotland’s former First Minister Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69.

Salmond, who led the country between 2007 and 2014, reportedly took ill while in North Macedonia. The former leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) dominated the campaign for an independent Scotland for decades and secured an ultimately unsuccessful 2014 referendum to break away from the U.K.

“The sad news of Alex Salmond’s passing today will come as a shock to all who knew him in Scotland, across the U.K. and beyond,” Scottish Labour Party Leader Anas Sarwar said in a tweet Saturday evening.

It is understood he collapsed after delivering a speech at an international conference on Saturday, the BBC reported.

Salmond led the Yes campaign during the push for Scottish independence. He resigned as first minister after Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. by 55 percent to 45 percent in 2014.

“Alex was a central figure in politics for over three decades and his contribution to the Scottish political landscape cannot be overstated,” Sarwar said.

In a statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid tribute to Salmond as someone who “cared deeply about Scotland’s heritage, history, and culture.”

In recent years, Salmond had a high-profile falling-out with his one-time protégé and successor as first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, leading to him quitting the SNP and setting up a splinter faction — the Alba Party.

Salmond was acquitted in 2020 of sexual assault following a string of allegations and a protracted court case. After leaving front-line politics, he hosted a television show with Russian state broadcaster Russia Today, which he announced would be suspended following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine “until peace is re-established.”

Former U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Salmond was “a huge figure” in British 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 in a tweet.