ALEX Salmond was smiling and joking in an upbeat video before he collapsed and died of a suspected heart attack.
The former First Minister, 69, passed away after having lunch at the Ohrid Forum on Cultural Diplomacy in North Macedonia yesterday.
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Alba Party chief Mr Salmond was filmed looking upbeat and cheery just hours before he passed away.
Pictures and video of the political supremo taken on Friday showed him smiling, laughing and joking as he took part in a panel discussion.
He started off his speech with some humour, which got a chuckle out of those in the room.
Mr Salmond quipped: “I’m always reluctant to teach lessons to other people in other countries, and can I just say to the president here, if I say anything wrong, then I will not be buying lunch for lots of people – I’m Scottish after all, we don’t do these sorts of things.”
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He was talking about the process of the referendum and the Scottish independence movement.
The ex-SNP chief heralded the lack of violence surrounding the fight for indy in Scotland.
He even jokingly referred to the historic 2014 vote as a civil “square go” for the people of Scotland to discuss the issue.
He told the gathering: “There were many successful things about the process of trying to reclaim Scottish independence.
“There was no violence, I mean, Scotland is not unique in the world but it’s unusual in that the process of self-determination in the modern era in Scotland, in the democratic era, has been achieved without a single person losing their life.
“In fact, nobody has had so much as a nosebleed, I think the worst excess in the entire referendum campaign of 10 years ago was that somebody got an egg thrown at them, which is hardly in the great excesses of politics, so that was an extraordinary success.
“And that was enabled of course because people on each side of the argument knew that there was a process by which the argument could be decided, i.e. a referendum – a ‘square go’ as we might call it in the Scottish vernacular, an even contest whereby people could resolve a situation.
“Now, that’s a successful thing, and of course, it’s not just one side, it has to be agreed by both sides, there’s no point having a one-sided agreement, that wouldn’t achieve anything.
“And I suppose the Edinburgh Agreement that I signed with David Cameron in 2012… is an example of an agreement whereby two sides, two opposing sides, came to a decision to hold a referendum and agreed to abide by the outcome.
Just hours after giving the upbeat speech, Mr Salmond died despite medics desperately trying to save his life.
Salmond was a true pro, he never gave up
BY CHRIS MUSSON, Associate Editor (Politics)
ALEX Salmond was still going at 110mph, right until the very end.
I last saw him a month ago when he came into the Scottish Sun offices for an interview to mark a decade since the independence referendum.
He was utterly bullish, as ever. Determined, incisive, funny, pugnacious.
He was as sharp as a tack. A man still following every last twist and turn of politics, in Scotland and beyond.
When I started my weekly column for the Scottish Sun earlier this year, I told readers I wanted to hear from them.
Salmond was the first person to email me after my debut piece, which had been about the past decade of “madness”, as I put it, and how it had been unhealthy for Scotland “I don’t fully agree with your analysis,” Salmond told me. I’ll take that, I thought.
But that interview we did just over a month ago was a walk in the park for Salmond.
Nothing got past him, and he was prepared for every question I put to him. He even had a plug ready for his 2026 Holyrood election strategy.
The interview was on camera and as a final question, I asked if he’d retire if failed to win a seat in two years’ time.
His response was first-class – not quite giving a straight answer, but colourful enough to draw a line under the issue.
“Oh, I intend to lead Alba into the Scottish Parliament in 2026. That’s my full intention,” he said.
“And if that doesn’t work, then I’ll probably go back to grabbing the family season ticket at Tynecastle, and hope by then we’re in a vein of form.”
After he ended, he delivered a signature chortle, then held a smile for the camera until we cut.
We exchanged gossip afterwards and as I walked him to reception he quipped “I hope you got some of what you wanted, there.”
Clocking the security guard had recognised him, he made a beeline for the guy, shook his hand and said a quick hello.
After Salmond gone, I said to the security guard: “You a fan?”
“Nah – not my politics,” he said, but added: “He seems a nice chap, though.”
And that was Salmond through and through. He liked to be liked, and – in his heyday, especially – he was great at it.
I remember thinking as he left: What a pro.
I also remember thinking that he did not look well. He was struggling with his walking, and had put on a lot of weight in recent years.
But he just kept going. He still had much to prove, after a decade of enormous upheaval for him.
Salmond thrived on popularity. He was a political animal – but wounded, damaged beyond repair, I think, by the infamous allegations against him and his own, self-confessed shortcomings.
People would often ask: Why doesn’t he just retire? But, that just wasn’t him. He would have to be made to stop.
Salmond still felt he had scores to settle – with the Scottish Government, with his foes in the SNP.
He so desperately wanted to get out from under that cloud that’s hung over him in recent years. To regain that popularity he once had.
That won’t happen now, of course. The fight is over for Salmond. But say what you want about him – he never gave up.
True to form, Mr Salmond’s final public message just hours before he died had a poignant message about the country he loved.
Tributes paid to the political legend reflected on his decades of service to the people of Scotland.
Scottish First Minster John Swinney said Alex Salmond “left a fundamental footprint on Scottish politics”.
Speaking on Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Swinney said his predecessor “Inspired a generation of people to believe in Scottish independence, and that generation is still believing in Scottish independence and still wants Scottish independence”.
Asked about his abiding memory of Mr Salmond, the First Minister said: “Obviously, I worked very closely with Alex Salmond, and I suspect the moment where I was most touched by what he did was when I was driving to Edinburgh on the day after the 2007 election, and I listened to him speaking on the radio when he arrived in Edinburgh, and he talked about Scotland had changed and changed forever and would never be the same again because of our election win in 2007.
The life and times of Alex Salmond
- 1954: Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond is born on December 31, 1954, in Linlithgow.
- 1973: Joins the SNP as a teenager. He attends the University of St Andrews where he studies economics and medieval history.
- 1978: Joins the civil service as an assistant economist at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland – part of the now defunct Scottish Office.
- 1980: Moves to work at the Royal Bank of Scotland as an economist.
- 1982: Expelled from the SNP after being a key part of the 79 Group – a faction within the SNP pushing for the party to take a more active left-wing stance. His expulsion lasts just one month.
- 1987: Elected as MP for the Banff and Buchan as one of three SNP MPs returned to Westminster. Months later becomes SNP deputy leader.
- 1990: Succeeds Gordon Wilson as SNP leader.
- 1997: Under his leadership, the SNP increases its MPs from four to six at the general election. He backs the campaign for a devolved Scottish Parliament.
- 1999: Becomes MSP for Banff and Buchan.
- 2000: Makes shock announcement that he is standing down as SNP leader. He is succeeded by John Swinney.
- 2001: Resigns his seat in the Scottish Parliament to focus on leading the SNP at Westminster.
- 2004: Takes over for his second stint as SNP leader after John Swinney stands down. He goes on to hold the job for the next decade.
- 2007: Elected as First Minister of Scotland after leading the SNP to victory at the Scottish Parliament election in 2007.
- 2012: Secures agreement with Prime Minister David Cameron for a Scottish independence referendum, to be held in 2014.
- 2014: Spearheads the independence campaign, raising support to 45 per cent – falling short of his goal to split from the UK. Following the referendum, he resigns as First Minister.
- 2015: Returns to Westminster as MP for Gordon. He holds the job for two years before losing his seat at the snap election called by Theresa May.
- 2018: Quits the SNP after allegations of sexual misconduct are made against him. He has a major falling out with Nicola Sturgeon in the aftermath, including how a probe into him is handled by the Scottish Government.
- 2020: At the High Court in Edinburgh, he is found not guilty on 12 sexual assault charges against him, while another is found not proven.
- 2021: Founds new independence party Alba. Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey defect to Alba, giving the party their first elected parliamentarians.
- 2023: Ash Regan defects to Alba, giving the party its first MSP at Holyrood
“And it was a deeply emotional moment for me, because I heard my party leader at the time indicating that we’d taken a colossal step forward on our journey to independence, and I fondly remember that moment, and what it meant to me as signifying the progress that we had made.”
He was also asked about Mr Salmond’s break with the SNP, and the “bitterness” that arose between Mr Salmond and his protegee Nicola Sturgeon in the last few years.
The First Minister replied: “Obviously, it’s been a very difficult few years, and there will be time to reflect on all of those issues in the days to come.
“But I think today, I think all of us can recognise the formidable contribution that Alex Salmond made.”
Despite their fallout, Ms Sturgeon paid tribute to Alex Salmond, who she described as her “mentor”.
In a statement, she said: “Obviously, 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.
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“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.”
