ALEX Salmond has died aged 69.
The former first minister was taking part in an event in North Macedonia and collapsed during a lunch with fellow participants on Saturday afternoon.
He had given a speech at the Cultural Diplomacy Forum in Ohrid the day before and had participated in meetings the morning prior to his death.
He is survived by his wife of more than four decades, Moira McGlashan.
Salmond was the leader of the SNP twice during his political career, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014, after joining the party in 1973.
He is largely credited for helping take the party from the fringe into the mainstream as he led the SNP into power when they won the Scottish Parliament election in 2007.
The party then won an unprecedented majority in the election four years later which helped pave the way for the referendum on Scottish independence.
He served as the first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014 and helped lead the Yes movement in the 2014 independence referendum.
Salmond resigned as first minister shortly after the result.
Nicola Sturgeon, who was his deputy at the time, succeeded him unopposed.
He later formed the pro-independence Alba Party in 2021 and was the party's leader.
First Minister and leader of the SNP, John Swinney, paid his respects to Salmond who he said: "fought fearlessly for the country that he loved".
He wrote: "I am deeply shocked and saddened at the untimely death of the former First Minister Alex Salmond and I extend my deepest condolences to Alex’s wife Moira and to his family.
"Alex worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved and for her Independence. He took the Scottish National Party from the fringes of Scottish politics into Government and led Scotland so close to becoming an Independent country
"There will be much more opportunity to reflect in the coming days, but today all of our thoughts are with Alex’s family, and his many friends and right across the political spectrum."
Former first minister and leader of the SNP Humza Yousaf paid tribute to Salmond on social media.
He said: "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 & UK politics. As well as helping to transform the SNP into the dominant political force it is today.
"My condolences to his family & friends."
The SNP Party also paid tribute to him online, calling the former leader "a titan of the independence movement".
The statement on social media read: "Alex Salmond, former leader of the SNP and First Minister of Scotland, has died.
"His leadership brought the SNP into the mainstream and the Scottish Government. He was a titan of the independence movement. Our thoughts are with Moira and his family."
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was one of the first politicians to pay their respects to the former giant of Scottish politics as he said the news would "come as a shock" to all who knew him in the UK and beyond.
He added: "Alex was a central figure in politics for over three decades and his contribution to the Scottish political landscape cannot be over stated."
More to follow ...
