Body of Scottish independence champion Alex Salmond flown home from North Macedonia

LONDON (AP) — The body of former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond was flown back to Scotland on a private jet Friday, six days after the politician died suddenly in North Macedonia.

A trumpet sounded as Salmond’s coffin, draped in Scotland’s blue-and-white Saltire flag, was loaded onto the plane at Ohrid airport in the country’s southwest by six members of North Macedonia’s military. The 69-year-old politician died of a heart attack on Saturday while attending a conference in the lake resort city.

The flight, chartered by Scottish businessman Tom Hunter, landed Friday afternoon in Aberdeen, near Salmond’s home in northeast Scotland. A bagpiper played as the coffin was carried from the plane and met by Salmond’s relatives and members of his Alba political party.

Plans are being put in place for a private family funeral along with a public memorial service.

Salmond led the Scottish National Party for a decade and a half, taking Scotland up to the brink of independence from the United Kingdom in a 2014 referendum.

He transformed the SNP from a fringe party to a dominant force in Scottish politics and served as first minister from 2007 to 2014. In the referendum, Scots rejected independence, with 55% voting against and 45% in favor.

Salmond subsequently resigned and was replaced by his longtime ally, Nicola Sturgeon. Their later split dominated Scottish politics for years.

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. He was acquitted after a trial in March 2020.

In 2021 he left the SNP and created a new party called Alba — the Scottish Gaelic word for Scotland — to press for a new independence referendum.