00:00Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland and a prominent campaigner for Scottish
00:05independence has died at the age of 69.
00:08It was during his time as a student at St Andrews that his political identity began
00:13to take shape, joining the SNP almost immediately after arriving in 1973.
00:20Despite a brief suspension from the SNP in 1982, he was elected to Parliament in 1987
00:26as one of only three Scottish National Party MPs at Westminster at the time.
00:32Following his election as leader of the party in 1990, Salmond transformed the Scottish
00:37National Party from being seen as a fringe group within Westminster to becoming a significant
00:42voice in UK politics.
00:44His sharp wit and charismatic demeanour helped establish his reputation as an effective political
00:50communicator on the front line of UK politics.
00:55In 1997, Salmond and the SNP joined with Tony Blair's government to campaign for devolution,
01:01which he saw as the crucial first step towards Scottish independence.
01:07The formation of the Scottish Parliament two years later gave Salmond the launchpad to
01:11reshape Scottish politics forever.
01:14His time in Holyrood was rarely without incident.
01:18After his unexpected resignation in 2000, he made a return four years later in 2004.
01:25In 2007, the SNP became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament, albeit by just
01:31one seat, leading to the formation of a minority government with Salmond as First Minister
01:37and his long-term ally Nicola Sturgeon as his deputy.
01:42The SNP's landmark victory in the 2011 election, where they secured a majority, paved the way
01:48for Salmond to begin talks with Prime Minister David Cameron on a referendum for Scottish
01:53independence.
01:54However, the outcome of the 2014 referendum proved to be a pivotal moment in Salmond's
02:00political career.
02:02Despite securing an unprecedented 45% share of the vote, Salmond resigned as SNP leader
02:09the following day.
02:11He returned to Westminster in 2015, but his time back in front-line politics was brief,
02:17losing his seat in 2017 and bringing an end to a political career that spanned over 30 years.
02:24Allegations of sexual assault surfaced in 2018, leading Salmond to resign from the SNP
02:30after 45 years of membership.
02:33Despite being cleared of all 14 charges in 2020, his relationships with senior figures
02:39within the SNP, including Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, SNP Chief Executive Peter
02:45Murrell, were severely strained.
02:49Salmond later won a significant payout of £500,000 after successfully taking the Scottish
02:54government to court over their handling of the allegations.
02:58His decision to host a chat show on Russia Today, the Russian state-controlled broadcaster,
03:03left a sour taste for many of his supporters.
03:07His return to Scottish politics with the newly formed ALBA party in 2021, 34 years after
03:13first being elected to Westminster, failed to disrupt the political status quo at Holyrood.
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