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Alex Salmond says being first minister of Scotland was a 'privilege' | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Alex Salmond has said he would "miss" being first minister, ahead of making his resignation address to parliament. | |
He added that doing the job for seven-and-a-half years was the "privilege of my life". Ms Sturgeon is expected to be elected to the role. | |
She took over the SNP leadership from her former boss during the party's conference at the weekend. | |
Before his statement to MSPs, Mr Salmond joked that he was looking forward to getting better at golf. | |
Mr Salmond, who decided to quit as first minister and SNP leader in the wake of the "No" vote in September's Scottish independence referendum is staying on as an MSP. | |
Ahead of his appearance in parliament, he said: "I love being first minister. It's been the privilege of my life to to this - I'll miss it dreadfully." | |
Asked what he would do next, Mr Salmond - who is considering standing for Westminster in the May 2015 election - joked: "There's some things I do reasonably well. I'm usually reasonable at hoovering. | |
"I'm a pretty good shopper I think, although I buy too many of these three-for-two things - I'm a sucker for bargains." | |
He added: "I want to do something about my golf game - I used to be good and now I'm kind of bad and my ambition is to get back to mediocre." | |
Mr Salmond was speaking as he unveiled a monument at Edinburgh's Heriot Watt University, bearing one of his famous quotes. | |
The commemorative stone is inscribed with the Robert Burns inspired phrase: "The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students," a comment made by Mr Salmond in 2011 while outlining his government's higher education policy. | |
A Rebel's Journey | A Rebel's Journey |