In the history of modern Scottish nationalism, Alex Salmond stands tallest.
Twice leader of the SNP, it was Salmond who took the party from the political and electoral fringe to mainstream player and eventually to government.
In the process, he led the Yes movement in the 2014 independence referendum, coming within ten percentage points of busting the 300-year-old Union.
A ferocious debater with a keen mind and quick turn of phrase, he had a master chess player’s skill for strategy and tactics. All were deployed in a near fifty-year career that made him one of the most significant figures of recent times.
After his resignation as First Minister, and with an enviable legacy to show for his efforts, Salmond made a number of questionable decisions that tarnished his legacy.
He stood trial at the High Court on a number of alleged sexual offences and subsequently had to battle in the court of public opinion to rescue his reputation, which was in part saved by the decision of a jury to acquit him of all of the charges made against him.
The fallout from the way the Scottish Government handled the allegations of misconduct against Salmond led to a rift and then an irreparable falling out with his successor, Nicola Sturgeon.
It also made his membership of the SNP untenable. Rather than depart the stage for a relaxed retirement, Salmond continued to cast a shadow over his former party – and Sturgeon in particular.
He became leader of the Alba Party. It gave him a platform to influence the debate on independence, but truth be told, he was very much a marginal figure who by then operated on the fringe.
