Former Liberal Democrat Party leader Charles Kennedy has died at his home in Fort William aged 55.
His family said they were devastated to lose a “fine man and loving father”. No cause of death has been given but police said it was not suspicious.
Mr Kennedy, who led his party from 1999 to 2006, lost his seat last month.
Politicians including Nick Clegg and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have been paying tribute, calling him “one of the most talented politicians”.
‘Great sadness’
Mr Clegg, who resigned as Liberal Democrat leader last month, said: “Charles devoted his life to public service, yet he had an unusual gift for speaking about politics with humour and humility which touched people well beyond the world of politics.
“He was one of the most gentle and unflappable politicians I have ever known, yet he was immensely courageous too not least when he spoke for the country against the invasion of Iraq.”
Mr Kennedy’s family said in a statement: “It is with great sadness, and an enormous sense of shock, that we announce the death of Charles Kennedy.
“We are obviously devastated at the loss. Charles was a fine man, a talented politician, and a loving father to his young son.”
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police officers attended an address at Fort William on Monday, June 1 to reports of the sudden death of a 55-year-old man. Police were notified by ambulance service personnel. There are no suspicious circumstances.”
Mr Kennedy’s political career began in the Social Democratic Party and he became the youngest MP of the time at the age of 23 when he won the Ross, Cromarty and Skye seat in 1983.
At first he was SDP spokesman on social security, Scotland and health and when most of his party merged with the Liberals to form the Lib Dems in 1988, he continued to hold a series of frontbench posts.
He took over the Liberal Democrat leadership from Paddy Ashdown in 1999 and led the party to its best election result since the 1920s in 2005, when the Lib Dems won 62 seats.
In January 2006 he said he had been receiving treatment for an alcohol problem and resigned as leader.
During the 1990s, Mr Kennedy built his profile through TV appearances, earning him the nickname, which he hated, of “Chatshow Charlie”.
His 2002 marriage to Camelot public relations executive Sarah Gurling was seen by many in the party as a sign he was settling down.
The birth of his son in 2005 was seen as a further sign that the hard-partying Kennedy – one commentator had dubbed him “Jock the lad” – was being transformed into a family man. BBC