First minister John Swinney says predecessor, who died on Saturday, ‘had a huge impact on our public life’

Alex Salmond had a suspected heart attack on Saturday while attending a forum in North Macedonia. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

John Swinney has paid tribute to Alex Salmond’s “colossal contribution” to Scottish and UK politics as allies of the former first minister mourned his sudden death on Saturday.

Swinney, the incumbent first minister, said Salmond had had a huge impact on public life by forging the Scottish National party into a force capable of winning successive elections and then by bringing Scotland “incredibly close” to independence.

“Alex made a colossal contribution to Scottish politics,” Swinney told Trevor Phillips on Sky News on Sunday. “I think it’s been universally acknowledged that politically, Alex Salmond had a huge impact on our public life within Scotland and the United Kingdom.”

Salmond had “a sense of absolute determination to succeed in his politics”, married to an ability to bring people together, he added.

“There was real drive and energy right at the heart of it. It was that combination of real drive and strategic thinking, which was at the heart of the success that Alex Salmond delivered.”

Salmond, 69, died of a suspected heart attack on Saturday in North Macedonia, where he had been attending a forum organised by the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy along with Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, the deputy leader of his Alba party.

Local media reported that he collapsed during a lunch and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In his last speech, on Friday, Salmond said that if Scotland had voted for independence in 2014, the course of UK history would have changed. He said David Cameron would have resigned as prime minister, and that would have meant the EU referendum would not have taken place in 2016.

“Right now, Scotland and the rest of the UK would likely be partners in the European Union,” he said.

A senior aide from Alba is thought to be in Skopje to arrange the repatriation of his body, with the help of officials from the Foreign Office.

Joanna Cherry, the former SNP MP who became a close ally of Salmond after they were elected to Westminster in the 2015 election, described his death as “shocking and devastating”.

“Alec was one of the finest politicians of his generation, and the finest first minister we’ve had to date,” she said on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show. “As well as being a strong leader, he had an ability to reach out to people who disagreed with him.

“He had a hinterland beyond politics. Unlike many modern politicians, he had had a profession beyond politics. He was a talented economist and could have made a lot of money and been very successful if he hadn’t gone into politics.”

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s former Westminster leader, who fell out with Salmond while party treasurer, said he was “utterly shocked and saddened” to hear of his death.

“Alex’s talents were extraordinary in leading people, leading a government and in leading a country,” he said. “There is no doubt that Alex’s strength of character and personality were critical in the SNP achieving electoral success.”

The actor Brian Cox, a convert to Scottish nationalism who spoke at the launch of the Yes Scotland independence campaign in 2013, said: “Scotland had been a second-class nation for a long time, and Alex went to battle on that.”

He said Salmond “pleaded the cause with great humanity and great understanding” of what Scotland could become.

Salmond’s death leaves Swinney as the only substantial figure in Scottish nationalism left in a leadership position, at a time when the SNP faces a significant challenge from Labour.

Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister who was Salmond’s closest ally until they fell out bitterly over her independence strategy and then investigations into Salmond’s alleged sexual misconduct, is now a backbench MSP.

There are doubts as to whether Sturgeon will stand in the next Holyrood elections, due in May 2026. Her husband, Peter Murrell, the former SNP chief executive, is facing trial for alleged embezzlement and a police investigation into her handling of the SNP’s finances is ongoing.

Swinney reacted cautiously when Phillips asked him whether he wanted Sturgeon to stand again for Holyrood.

He said he would welcome that, but said: “It’s for Nicola to decide if she wishes to stand for election. And it will be up to the party to go through its processes of candidate selection to decide who should be the candidates.”