Home > Alex Salmond

Salmond became active in the SNP when he joined its student wing whilst a student at the University of Saint Andrews. A naturally inclined left-winger at the time he claims he joined as he had considerable doubts as to whether or not the Labour Party would deliver a devolved Scottish Assembly.

He started life as a committed left-winger inside the SNP and was a leading member of the socialist republican faction inside the SNP, the 79 Group. He was along with other 79 Group leaders expelled from the SNP when they became a proscribed organisation within the party.

Salmond successfully appealed this expulsion and in 1987 he was elected MP for Banff and Buchan. He was at this time still viewed as being firmly on the left of the party and had become a key ally of Jim Sillars, who joined him in the British House of Commons when he won a by-election for the seat of Glasgow Govan in 1988.

When Gordon Wilson stood down as SNP leader in 1990, Salmond decided to contest the leadership. His only opponent was Margaret EwingMargaret Ewing is a Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP. Born on September 1 1945, she attended the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde and was a teacher before becoming an MP at the February 1974 Election. With the downturn in SNP elect, who Sillars decided to support. This caused considerable consternation amongst the SNP left as the two main left leaders were on opposing sides. It was also around this time that Salmond and Sillars drifted apart. However, Salmond won the leadership election.

His first test as leader was the 19921992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. Events January January The Internet Society is formed. January 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General January 1 George H. Bush becomes the fi General Election, with the SNP having high hopes of making a real electoral breakthrough. However the party, whilst considerably increasing its vote failed to win a great number of seats, with Sillars losing his, causing him to famously describe the Scottish people as '90 minute patriots'. This comment caused the political friendship between Salmond and Sillars to become terminated, and Sillars became a vocal critic of Salmond's style of leadership.

The SNP managed to increase its number of MPs from four to six in the 19971997 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Reef''. Events January January 3 NBC's Today Show Bryant Gumbel signs off for the last time January 8 Mister Rogers receives a star on t General Election, which saw the return of the first Labour Government in the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly for 18 years. This also brought prospects of a devolved Scottish Assembly closer.

Salmond signed the SNP up to supporting the campaign for devolution and along with Scottish Labour leader Donald DewarDonald Campbell Dewar ( August 21, 1937 October 11, 2000) was a Scottish politician and the first First Minister of Scotland after devolution in 1999. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he attended Glasgow Academy before studying at the University of Glasgow, whe he played an active part in securing the victory for devolution in the 1997 Referendum. However, many hard line fundamentalistsThe fundamentalist ideology within the Scottish National Party (SNP) is the belief that the SNP should emphasise its policy of Scottish independence more widely in order to achieve it. The argument goes that if the SNP is unprepared to argue for its centr in the SNP objected to committing the party to campaigning for devolution, something they felt was way short of Scottish independenceScottish independence is the name given to a political movement of Scottish people seeking the creation of an independent sovereign state of Scotland, separate from the United Kingdom and which in fact would dissolve it. Ideology The movement includes gra.

Salmond was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was one of its highest profile members. He stood down as SNP leader in 2000 and was replaced by his chosen successor John Swinney, who defeated Alex Neil for the post.

His leadership was characterised by a moderation of his earlier left-wing views and by him firmly placing the SNP into a gradualist strategy.

In 2001 he quit the Scottish Parliament to lead the SNP Group at Westminster, a role he still occupies.

In a surprise announcement on July 15 2004, Alex Salmond announced that he would be a candidate in the forthcoming election for the leadership of the SNP (which arose because of John Swinney's resignation from the leadership three weeks previously). Salmond had previously said that he definitely would not be a candidate in that election. In the postal ballot of all members he received over 75% of the votes cast.