Former first minister Alex Salmond has been remembered as not just the political leader who took Scotland “so close to his dream of independence”, but as a “dear friend”.

Tributes were paid to the 69-year-old at a funeral service on Tuesday following his sudden death in Macedonia earlier this month.

The former SNP leader, who went on to set up the Alba Party, had been speaking at a conference when he suffered a heart attack.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) (Image: Andrew Milligan) Speaking at the funeral in Strichen, Aberdeenshire, where Mr Salmond lived, acting Alba leader Kenny MacAskill paid tribute to the man who served as first minister of Scotland between 2007 and 2014.

Mr MacAskill, justice secretary in Mr Salmond’s government, hailed him as “a giant of a man, the leader of our country, the leader of our movement”, before describing him as “an inspiration, a political genius, an orator, debater and communicator without parallel”.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) (Image: Andrew Milligan) He said Mr Salmond was “the outstanding political figure in Scotland not just of his generation but for generations past and likely for generations to come”.

He added: “The legacy he bequeathed is all around. From roads and bridges to rights such as free prescriptions and no tuition fees.”

Mr Salmond’s niece Christina Hendry told the service since his death, “we have felt the grief of a nation, and beyond”.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) (Image: Andrew Milligan) Speaking at the service at Strichen Parish Church, attended only by family and close friends, she added: “For everyone in this room we have felt the loss differently.

“Uncle Alex was an important person to many, but to us he was a husband, a brother, an uncle, a colleague and a dear friend.”

Mr Salmond took the SNP from a party of opposition into government in Scotland with a narrow victory over Labour in the 2007 Holyrood election.

After his SNP won an unprecedented overall majority in the Scottish Parliament in 2011, then prime minister David Cameron agreed to its demands for an independence referendum.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) While Scots voted to stay in the UK in the 2014 vote, Mr MacAskill remembered Mr Salmond as “a man who through his lifetime’s efforts restored pride in our nation and took us so close to his dream of independence”.

Speaking about Mr Salmond, who is survived by his wife Moira, he added: “Politics wasn’t a career for him even if he excelled in its arts. He was committed to Scotland and independence, spurning overtures to join other parties.

“But he rejected them all.”

He said the former first minister “had a dream of what Scotland could be, and a strategy to achieve it”, as he recalled him “building a party which then took office, and which so nearly won the referendum”.

He recalled his time in office after the SNP first won the 2007, saying while Mr Salmond led a team of ministers with no previous experience in government in a minority administration in Holyrood, his “vision and deft handling” had ensured that his government was “recognised even by opponents as credible, capable and competent”.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) Mr MacAskill went on to say that under Mr Salmond the SNP had enjoyed “unprecedented electoral success in 2011” with its Holyrood majority “something unlikely ever to be repeated”.

While “a very public figure”, Mr MacAskill said Mr Salmond had been “fiercely protective of his private life and Moira and the family”, and was a “cherished and loving husband, brother, uncle”, as well as a “friend to many”.

Several political figures were among the mourners at the funeral, including former Commons speaker John Bercow and Alba Party chairwoman Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

(Image: Andrew Milligan) Former SNP MPs Jim Sillars and Joanna Cherry also attended, as did close friend SNP MSP Fergus Ewing and his sister Annabelle Ewing, and Mr Salmond’s former chief of staff, Geoff Aberdein.

Speaking ahead of the service, the minister conducting the funeral, family friend Rev Dr Ian McEwan, who also led Mr Salmond’s niece’s wedding and father’s funeral, said: “These are desperately sad circumstances and anyone who has been through grief will understand that this is an incredibly difficult day for the family.

“There is palpable shock over Alex’s passing and folk can well imagine the distress and sorrow within the family.

“He was the life and soul of the party and played a leading role in his family, and the privacy of the funeral is to give them space to grieve and say farewell to a husband, a brother and an uncle whom they loved dearly.”

After the funeral, piper Fergus Mutch, who previously worked for Mr Salmond, led a procession behind the Saltire-draped coffin to the cemetery at Strichen for a private service.

A public memorial service to remember the former first minister will be held at a later date.

First Minster John Swinney will lead tributes to him at a motion of condolence in Holyrood on Wednesday.

The Scottish Cabinet, which met on Tuesday morning, “reflected on (his) sudden death”.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The First Minister and Cabinet recorded their sympathies to Mr Salmond’s wife Moira and their wider family.”

Giving the Time for Reflection at the Scottish Parliament, Lord Wallace, a former Scottish deputy first minister and previous moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: “As a contemporary of Alex Salmond in the House of Commons, in this Parliament and as respective party leaders, I can testify to his formidable skills as a politician and recognise the service he gave to his constituents and to Scotland as an MP, MSP and first minister.

“My sympathy goes out to Moira and Alex’s family, not least today as he is laid to rest."