Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has died at 69, according to statements from Scotland’s main political parties and UK media reports.

Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland who for decades championed Scotland’s independence from the U.K. and nearly accomplished it, has died. He was 69. Salmond, who was one of the most divisive figure in British politics at the turn of the century and who as the then leader of the Scottish National Party took Scotland