Alex Salmond’s family has said the late politician “left a fundamental footprint on Scottish politics” and that “life will never be the same” without him.
Mr Salmond, who led the Scottish National Party (SNP) between 1990 and 2000 and then again between 2004 and 2014, died on Saturday afternoon aged 69 from a suspected heart attack during a trip to North Macedonia.
His family said he was “a formidable politician, an amazing orator, an outstanding intellect and admired throughout the world”, in a statement released on Sunday evening.
“He loved meeting people and hearing their stories and showed incredible kindness to those who needed it,” it said.
“He dedicated his adult life to the cause he believed in – independence for Scotland.
“In our darkest of family moments, he was always the one who got us through, making this time even more difficult, as he is not here for us to turn to. His resilience and optimism knew no bounds.
“He led us to believe in better. Without Alex, life will never be the same again.
“But he would want us to continue with his life’s work for independence, and for justice, and that is what we shall do.”
Politics latest: Minister doesn’t rule out raising key tax
Scotland’s first minister John Swinney told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that the former Scottish leader made “a colossal contribution to Scottish politics”, adding he took the SNP from the fringes of Scottish politics to become the government of Scotland and took the country “incredibly close” to independence with the 2014 referendum.
Quizzed on why he thought Mr Salmond was so successful, the SNP leader said: “[He had an] absolute determination to succeed in his politics.
“There was a bringing together of people to make sure that we were successful in our politics. So there was real drive and energy right at the heart of it.
“The second thing was his sense of strategic perspective, which was important in identifying how you went from one situation to another and how you built…
