(Bloomberg) — Alex Salmond, who turned his Scottish National Party’s power dreams into reality even as his vision of an independent country fell short, has died. He was 69.
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Salmond collapsed on Saturday after giving a speech in North Macedonia, the Times newspaper reported. No cause of death was given.
Salmond became Scotland’s leader or first minister in 2007 when he led a minority SNP government in the semi-autonomous Scottish parliament, the first time the party won the most votes in an election. Four years later he led the SNP to a historic victory, winning an overall majority under a voting system designed to create coalition governments.
He resigned from the SNP in 2018 and was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon following allegations of sexual harassment, of which he was later cleared. Most recently he was the founder and leader of Scotland’s Alba Party.
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