Alex Salmond's last day as First Minister

Alex Salmond steps down as First Minister today after seven years in the job.

He is known for being SNP's most successful leader, but also the man who failed to deliver independence when the referendum vote went No by 45%.

He joined the SNP party in 1973 while at St Andrew University, where he studied economics and history.

In 1987 he was elected as the MP for Banff and Buchan, and went on to take the leadership role of the party in 1990.

But in 2007, Salmond was named the country's First Minister, taking over from Jack McConnell.

He claims his greatest achievement is providing Scottish students with free higher education.

While Salmond's dream of an independent Scotland has not yeat come true, he says he believes that it will happen "in his lifetime".