LONDON (Reuters) -Alex Salmond, the former First Minister of Scotland and a prominent figure in the Scottish independence movement, died on Saturday. He was 69.

Salmond, who headed the devolved Scottish government for seven years from 2007, is credited with helping to push support for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom to record levels during the 2014 referendum campaign.

Scots, however, voted 55%-45% in favour of staying in the UK in the vote.

A source in the Scottish National Party (SNP), which Salmond led for about two decades, confirmed his death. The cause was not immeidately clear.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Timothy Heritage)