The family of Alex Salmond have said the former Scottish first minister was “a devoted and loving husband, a fiercely loyal brother, a proud and thoughtful uncle and a faithful and trusted friend,” following his death on Saturday at the age of 69.

In a statement, they said the “formidable politician” was “admired throughout the world” but was also a “loving” family man whose presence got them through their “darkest moments”.

They said life would never be the same again, but vowed to continue his work towards Scottish independence.

Mr Salmond died of a suspected heart attack after delivering a speech in North Macedonia at the weekend. Arrangements to repatriate his body to Scotland are under way.

His family – including wife Moira, sisters Margaret and Gail, his brother Bob and his nieces Christina and Karen and his nephews Mark, Neil and Ian – released a statement on Sunday evening.

It said: “Alex was a formidable politician, an amazing orator, an outstanding intellect, and admired throughout the world. He loved meeting people and hearing their stories, and showed incredible kindness to those who needed it.

“He dedicated his adult life to the cause he believed in – independence for Scotland. His vision and enthusiasm for Scotland and the Yes movement were both inspirational and contagious.

“But to us, first and foremost, he was a devoted and loving husband, a fiercely loyal brother, a proud and thoughtful uncle and a faithful and trusted friend.”

They added: “In our darkest of family moments, he was always the one who got us through, making this time even more difficult, as he is not here for us to turn to. His resilience and optimism knew no bounds.

“He led us to believe in better. Without Alex, life will never be the same again. But he would want us to continue with his life’s work for independence, and for justice, and that is what we shall do.”

The statement concluded with the words “the dream shall never die” – the same words used by Salmond as he stepped down following the loss of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Salmond had given a speech at the Academy for Cultural Diplomacy (ACD) conference in Ohrid, North Macedonia on Friday.

He attended dinner that evening, where he discussed plans for an ACD event in Scotland next year, before appearing at the second day of the conference on Saturday.

He took part in a panel discussion, then was attending a lunch.

It was there he took ill – falling backwards in his chair, and caught by a fellow delegate.

He suffered what was thought to be a massive heart attack. However, an autopsy will be carried out to confirm the cause of death.

The rest of the event was cancelled as paramedics tried in vain to resuscitate him.

He had posted on X just hours before his death, signing off with the phrase: “Scotland is a country not a county”.

On Monday morning, fellow former first minister, Henry McLeish, told BBC Scotland News that Salmond “broke new ground” in Scottish politics.

McLeish, who served as Labour leader of the Scottish parliament between 2000 and 2001, remembered the former SNP leader as a “formidable politician and a friend”.

McLeish, 76, succeeded Donald Dewar in as first minister in October 2000.

While McLeish campaigned on the No side of the 2014 referendum, he said there was a “great deal of respect” between the pair.

He told Good Morning Scotland: “I knew Alex as a politician but also as a friend, not a close friend, but someone who, I think, there was a great deal of respect for and I think that was reciprocated.

“I think that today, there are too many politicians regarding each other as political enemies when at that time, quite rightly, we talked about political opponents.

“Alex was formidable in many other ways. He shaped the substance and debate of post-devolution politics, but he wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea.

“He was a tough performer, relentless in so many ways but I found, behind that exterior, was someone that I could at least get on with.”

Salmond had two stints as leader of the SNP, between 1990 and 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.

He lead the party to power in Scotland in 2007 and cemented their position in Scottish politics.

Salmond resigned as leader of the party and first minister in 2014 following the Yes campaign’s defeat in the referendum.

McLeish described the 45% vote in support of independence as a “spectacular result” for the Yes campaign, which surprised those at Westminster.

“He was within a few hundred thousand votes from Scotland exiting the union,” McLeish said.

“So in that sense, that 55-45 was quit a spectacular result which took many of us by surprise, including [then-Prime Minister] David Cameron.

“[Salmond] knew in his eyes, devolution would be a stepping stone to something else. In a pragmatic way, he sought to establish the SNP in the parliament, he was very pragmatic in the way that he tried to relate to others.

“He took devolution, he supported devolution, but I think he took a very pragmatic approach and I think that is what has been missing from in the period he left office in 2014.”

Former MP Eilidh Whiteford was Salmond’s successor in the Banff and Buchan seat during the 2010 election. She said Salmond had a “contagious” belief in Scotland’s potential and its people, encouraging the country to “believe in itself”.

At a local level, Whiteford said the constituents of Banff and Buchan knew, in Salmond, they had a champion who would “fight for their interests at every opportunity”.

Fergus Mutch, former SNP head of communications, said the “tactical genius” of Salmond lay in his ability to get the most of the people around him.

“Alex’s untimely death is extremely sad and a great loss but I guess his great legacy is that he took the independence movement to where it is today.”