The death of Alex Salmond has caused consternation in Scotland. An eyewitness now reports on the moments when the politician died.
Former Scottish Prime Minister Alex Salmond died last Saturday at the age of 69 while visiting North Macedonia. Now new details about his death are becoming known. According to an eyewitness account, Salmond was having lunch with other participants in the North Macedonian city of Ohrid when the accident occurred, reports the British newspaper “The Telegraph”. Salmond suddenly collapsed with a heart attack while trying to help a colleague from his Alba party open a ketchup bottle.
Mark Donfried, eyewitness and director of the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy, described the incident in detail. According to him, Salmond collapsed backwards in his chair without warning. A former CEO of the Cyprus Stock Exchange, who was sitting nearby, tried to administer first aid, but Salmond was already unconscious at the time. Donfried added that those present felt as if time had stood still. The politician’s sudden death shocked everyone at the table.
An autopsy conducted Sunday evening confirmed a “massive heart attack” as the cause of death. A spokesman for Salmond said the politician complained of pain in his right leg on Saturday morning, which may have been the first sign of an impending heart attack.
North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry confirmed the time of death as 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. Salmond had recently appeared as a speaker at the conference.
On Monday, Salmond’s family released a statement paying tribute to the 69-year-old as an outstanding politician and beloved family man. She emphasized his devotion to Scottish independence, which he pursued tirelessly throughout his political life. The statement continued: “But to us he was, first and foremost, a devoted husband, a loyal brother, a proud uncle and a loyal friend.”
Alex Salmond was Scottish First Minister from 2007 to 2014 and had a significant influence on the country’s political landscape. He will be particularly remembered for his role in organizing the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014. After his second term as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2004 until his resignation in 2014, he later turned away from the party and founded the new political movement Alba. Tensions had previously arisen as Salmond faced allegations of sexual misconduct.