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King Charles ‘greatly saddened’ after death of Alex Salmond
The King has paid tribute to former first minister Alex Salmond, who has died at the age of 69.
Charles said he was ‘greatly saddened’ to hear of Mr Salmond’s death.
The Scot and Alba party leader suffered a suspected heart attack in North Macedonia on Saturday.
In a message issued by Buckingham Palace, the King said: ‘My wife and I are greatly saddened to hear of the sudden death of Alex Salmond.
‘His devotion to Scotland drove his decades of public service.
‘We extend our deep condolences to his family and loved ones at this time.’
Mr Salmond had made a speech at North Macedonia’s Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum and is understood to have collapsed at lunch in a crowded room.
The Alba party said it understood he had suffered a heart attack, although there will be a post-mortem examination to confirm the cause of death.
The office of former North Macedonia President Gjorgje Ivanov said on Saturday: ‘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.’
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said: ‘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.’
Twice leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for a total of 20 years, the 69-year-old was a major figure in the campaign for Scottish independence.
Mr Salmond stepped down as leader and first minister in 2014, after more than seven years at the helm of Scotland’s government, having recently lost a referendum on independence.
The Yes campaign he led came within 10 percentage points of winning independence from the United Kingdom.
Just a decade before, the SNP was on the fringes of Scottish politics.
Mr Salmond quit the SNP in 2018, after 45 years as a member, over the handling of sexual misconduct claims made against him.
A jury later found him not guilty of sexually assaulting nine women after a trial in 2020, partly leading to calls for his successor Nicola Sturgeon to resign.
Ms Sturgeon said: ‘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.
‘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 UK politics.
‘Alex modernised the SNP and led us into government for the first time, becoming Scotland’s fourth First Minister and paving the way for the 2014 referendum which took Scotland to the brink of independence.
‘He will be remembered for all of that. My thoughts are with Moira, his wider family and his friends.’
Mr Salmond went on to form a new party, Alba, in 2021, sparking a wave of defections from the SNP, including former leadership contender Ash Regan and MPs Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill.
Alex Salmond’s wife Moira stood by him for 40 years
Alex Salmond leaves behind his wife Moira Salmond, 87, who he was married to for more than 40 years
The pair met in the 1970s, when Ms Salmon – who was 17 years older than him – was his boss at the Scottish Office in London.
She worked in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries when he joined as an assistant economist.
They married in 1981 and never had children.
Though she spent seven years as Scotland’s ‘First Wife’, Ms Salmond generally steered clear of the public eye.
According to The Express, she has only ever given one interview, with the Sunday Post in 1990.
She said at the time: ‘I married Alex, not politics. That’s his life and I am happy to be in the background.
‘I share his convictions, but one politician in the family is quite enough.’
She also revealed the pair enjoyed playing cards and Scrabble together – which she would ‘invariably win’.
Ms Salmond did make an appearance in support of her husband for his high-profile court case when he was charged with 13 sex attacks on nine women.
He was cleared of all charges after an 11-day trial.
It was part of a split within the SNP over its strategy for achieving independence, and its policies on social issues, with Alba taking a more conservative stance.
Decades before, Mr Salmond had been active in a dissident group trying to pull the SNP to the left in a bid to undercut support for Labour.
He was saved when that group was expelled, going on to be elected as MP for Banff and Buchan in 1987.
Once in Parliament, he got himself banned from the Commons chamber for interrupting the chancellor’s Budget speech. Three years later he was party leader.
Ever controversial, Mr Salmond presented a programme on Russian state-owned broadcaster RT from 2017 until it was suspended following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Best known as a firebrand with a career spanning prime ministers from Margaret Thatcher to Keir Starmer, Mr Salmond did have a life before politics.
Mr Salmond was born 1954 just west of Edinburgh in Linlithgow, a town where he his working class parents raised him in a council house.
As a child, he sang soprano at the 15th century St Michael’s Parish Church, beside Linlithgow Palace, where Mary Queen of Scots was baptised.
He studied economics and medieval history at the University of St Andrews, where he first joined the SNP in 1973.
BBC Scotland’s former political editor, Brian Taylor, who was there at the same time, said: ‘If he had two options to make a political point, he would always use the one which allowed him to make mischief as well as making the point.’
He lived up to that until the last, hitting out at former Prime Minister Tony Blair and current First Minister John Swinney in a series of post on X just hours ago.
In a statement, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: ‘The sad news of Alex Salmond’s passing today will come as a shock to all who knew him in Scotland, across the UK and beyond.
‘Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time and on behalf of Scottish Labour I offer our sincere condolences to all who will be mourning his loss.
‘Alex was a central figure in politics for over three decades and his contribution to the Scottish political landscape can not be overstated.
‘It is right that we recognise Alex’s service to our country as First Minister and to the communities he represented as both MP and MSP.’
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