These are the first four candidates announced for Alex Salmond’s new Alba Party.
Alex Salmond – North East Scotland
One of the most significant figures in modern politics in Scotland and the UK, he served as Scotland’s first minister from 2007 to 2014.
He led the SNP for more than 20 years, in two spells, and spearheaded the Yes campaign in the run-up to the independence referendum, resigning in the wake of its defeat.
Mr Salmond was MP and also MSP for Banff and Buchan, later representing Gordon and Aberdeenshire East at Holyrood, and finally Gordon at Westminster between 2015 and 2017.
Last year he was cleared of sexual assault charges after a trial, and the Scottish Government’s handling of allegations against him have been the subject of two high-profile probes.
Eva Comrie – Mid Scotland and Fife
Ms Comrie was born in Stirling and brought up in Blairlogie, Crieff and Alva. She studied law at Edinburgh University.
She described herself as a “bionic candidate”, saying NHS Scotland “saved my life and my mobility” by providing her with a “couple of dozen artificial legs” and “rebuilt my titanium spine”.
Independence has been her “lifetime’s desire” and she said that was the reason she had relinquished her candidacy in the number one spot for the SNP in Mid Scotland and Fife regional list.
She said that “as a woman and as a lawyer” she had been “disappointed that equalities policies have not been as positive as they might have been”, and intends to campaign on that topic and deliver a policy paper on it.
Cynthia Guthrie – South of Scotland
She is joint managing director of West Lothian company Guthrie Group Ltd, which describes itself as one of the largest independent distributors of health and safety supplies in Scotland.
Ms Guthrie is also a former board member of West Lothian Chamber of Commerce, and has been a member of the court of Queen Margaret University (QMU) in Edinburgh.
Earlier in her career, she held senior human resources and personnel positions at Ferranti Defence Systems and BSkyB.
She said her priority is to “get the economy back up and running and really help businesses transition out the Covid pandemic”.
Chris McEleny – West of Scotland
Mr McEleny was first elected as an SNP councillor in Inverclyde in 2012, and was appointed leader of the SNP group on the council a year later, aged 25.
On Friday he relinquished his SNP membership and said he would no longer be standing for the party on the West of Scotland list, as he was switching to the Alba Party.
He has long called for a “Plan B” to secure independence if the UK Government continues to refuse to agree to hand over the legal powers for a referendum.