LONDON: Scotland’s former leader and figurehead of the independence movement Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69, members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) that he once led said on Saturday.

“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. My condolences to his family & friends,” SNP politician and former first minister Humza Yousaf wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Salmond, who headed the devolved Scottish government for seven years from 2007, is credited with helping to push support for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom to record levels during the 2014 referendum campaign.

Scots, however, voted 55pc-45pc in favour of staying in the UK in the vote.

A source in the Scottish National Party (SNP), which Salmond led for about two decades, confirmed his death. The cause was not immeidately clear.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024