Alex Salmond: A Scottish independence legend and pro-Palestinian advocate
The former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who died unexpectedly during a conference in North Macedonia at the weekend, was one of the most vocally pro-Palestinian western leaders of his generation and a vociferous opponent of the Iraq war.
Salmond, who died at 69, on 12 October, was one of the UK’s most significant and influential politicians in the last 20 years. He led the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) from 1990 to 2000, and from 2004 to 2014, winning the party an outright majority in Scotland’s devolved parliament for the first time in 2011.
Labelled “Mad Alex” by Donald Trump, he came close to breaking the United Kingdom up in 2014 by securing a referendum on Scottish independence, although Scotland ultimately voted against leaving the UK.
He collapsed in his chair during lunch at the conference, suffering what is thought to have been a heart attack.
Tributes poured in from all quarters, including from King Charles, who said he was “greatly saddened” by the news.
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Known for being a man of many hats, Salmond played a ghost in a Pakistani soap opera in 2001, having been trained for the role by James Bond star Sean Connery.
Support for Palestinian cause
The former SNP leader was a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause. In 2004, he opposed Britain’s abstention on a UN resolution condemning Israel’s assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Then in 2010, as SNP leader, Salmond slammed Israel’s assassination of Hamas member Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
As first minister, he called for an embargo on arms sales to Israel in August 2014, amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Salmond later stirred controversy in 2016 as a representative for UK in Europe by attacking the Israeli representative for criticising Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s presence in France during a Holocaust commemoration service.
His pro-Palestinian stance continued after his departure from the SNP in 2018, and when he became leader of a new pro-independence party called the Alba Party from 2021 onwards.
Earlier this month Salmond slammed Britain’s Labour government on social media platform X, asking: “Is the UK to 'stand with Israel' in Gaza, in Lebanon, in flagrant breaches of international law, in tens of thousands of civilian deaths over the last year?”
This was in response to Starmer promising support for Israel after it was hit by an Iranian missile attack.
Salmond added: “Britain is the former colonial power and the Middle East is one of the few areas where what is said by the PM actually matters.
“Would a better policy not be to simply say 'we stand to uphold international law and unequivocally back the UN’s pursuit of peace'?”
In August he strongly criticised the current SNP first minister, John Swinney, after it emerged a minister had met Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky.
“This is not a time for business as usual with a state whose leadership is under ICC investigation for war crimes,” he said, accusing the minister of “cosying up to Israeli officials” and suggesting he should be sacked.
Earlier this year he also made headlines for demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be arrested “and sent to the courts” if he steps foot on Scottish soil, following the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli and Hamas leaders.
Iraq war, Qatar and Iran
Salmond firmly opposed Britain’s invasion alongside the US of Iraq in 2003, and later said there was “substantial evidence” that Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair had intended to deceive the public.
In 2016 as the SNP foreign affairs spokesperson, Salmond tabled an unsuccessful motion in the House of Commons calling for parliamentary committees to investigate Blair.
In 2011 on a trip to Qatar to discuss collaboration on innovation and energy, Salmond said that Scotland and Qatar were remarkably similar, arguing that “both Scotland and Qatar have common strengths in the oil and gas sector”, and “Qatar’s focus on becoming a global knowledge hub links well with Scotland’s considerable reputation as a world-leading education nation”.
It later emerged that the Scottish government’s priority for the trip was selling Edinburgh Airport, although Salmond denied that he discussed the issue with the Qatari government.
In 2015, Salmond then led a mission to Tehran to boost business and cultural links between Scotland and Iran. This was after western sanctions on Iran were lifted when the government agreed to limit its nuclear activities.
He also became the host of a show called Turkish Tea Talk on Turkish government-owned TRT World last year.
The politician’s relationship with the party he once led had soured by the time he died.
In August 2018, Salmond resigned from the SNP in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct. He was cleared of all charges in 2020 and later won £500,000 ($652,000) in legal costs after a judicial review found the Scottish government had mishandled the complaints.
At the time of his death, Salmond was pursuing a civil lawsuit for damages and loss of earnings.
He had a tumultuous relationship with Humza Yousaf, who was first minister from from 2023 to 2024, accusing him last year of missing a 2014 vote on gay marriage because “he was under so much pressure from the mosque”, which Yousaf denied.
In February this year, Yousaf said Salmond was spending “a fair bit of his time laying the boot into the SNP and trying to damage me”.
Last month, Salmond labelled Yousaf an “unfortunate footnote” in the SNP's history.
After his death Yousaf said: “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 and UK politics.
“As well as helping to transform the SNP into the dominant political force it is today.
“My condolences to his family and friends.”
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