It's quite logical: Starfleet beam up Mr Salmond as honorary Trekkie

ALEX Salmond has been given an intergalactic boost in his bid to "Klingon" to power.

• Obsession: Alex Salmond has admitted practising to be the Starship Enterprise's resident Vulcan in front of the mirror, and recording the sound of the early series for posterity on his first tape recorder

The First Minister will go where no party leader has gone before after the world's largest Star Trek fan organisation voted to award him its highest honour.

The SNP leader is to be made a Starfleet Officer and awarded "Membership of Distinction" to reward his dedication to promoting the long-running sci-fi series and its values.

Salmond has spoken publicly of his "obsessive" life-long love of Star Trek, which, as a youngster, even led him to attach a clothes peg to one eyebrow in a bid to perfect the inscrutable expressions of Mr Spock.

The 4,000-member fan organisation, based in North Carolina, has never previously recognised any politicians or leaders, restricting honorary membership to US astronauts and cast members.

However, Starfleet's executive council recently voted to bestow the honour on the First Minister. Rear Admiral Jonathan Lee, the group's chief of communications, has written to Salmond inviting him to accept the title.

The letter, seen by Scotland on Sunday, states: "We have never previously awarded a complimentary membership to a government leader.

"However, based on your declared appreciation for Star Trek, combined with the fact that you lead the future birthplace of one of it's most beloved characters (Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott) we felt it would be appropriate to make this gesture in the hope that you will appreciate the sentiment in which it is offered.

"We believe in the dream of Star Trek: a planet united in peace, joining other worlds in the quest for knowledge and exploration. Starfleet is trying to set that example today and reaching out to you as First Minister of Scotland is just one of our many efforts to bring the people of this world just a little closer together."

In addition to being named as an Officer, the First Minister will also receive an official Starfleet card and certificate as well as issues of the organisation's bi-monthly newsletter.

He will also be eligible for down-to-Earth perks such as discount at Enterprise Rent-a-Car and 20 per cent off a stay at the US hotel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6, which are often frequented by Star Trek convention goers.

In his missive to Salmond, Lane added: "There is no requirement that you participate actively, but if you wish to get more involved Starfleet offers opportunities to participate in online chat lists, join local meetings and even take online courses in our Starfleet Academy.With enough activities you can earn commendations and even promotions to higher ranks."

The organisation currently does not have any active groups in Scotland, but officials from the Stevenage chapter, ISS Rassilon in Hertfordshire, have agreed to cross the border in full uniform to make an official presentation to the First Minister at Bute House in the near future.

Salmond's love affair with the space drama began when he watched the original series while growing up in Linlithgow. Long before he dreamed of leading Scotland to independence he would stand in front of his bedroom mirror with a clothes peg on his eyebrow mastering his impersonations of his pointy-eared hero.

He told a BBC Scotland chatshow audience in 2001: "I sat in front of a mirror and I'd say things like, 'Captain, we have a 2,499,99-to-one chance of surviving this,' in his Vulcan voice. I sat there until I could do it. I was going to describe it as a normal childhood, but maybe it wasn't."

In a recent interview with the Radio Times, Salmond revealed he had watched every TV episode and film. "I am an obsessive Trekkie. New or old, I love everything about it. Voyager (a spin-off series] was my favourite, that and first series Star Trek. I've seen them so many times, and the new Star Trek film too."

The nationalist leader added: "I bought my first tape recorder when I was working at the age of 15 in the brickworks to record Star Trek.

"Somewhere in the house I have got old tapes of Star Trek, first time round, just the audio."

In 2007, civic officials in Linlithgow, Salmond's home town, erected a plaque proclaiming that Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the Enterprise's cantankerous chief engineer, would be born there in the year 2222.

The West Lothian town's museum now boasts a range of Star Trek artefacts, including a Tribble, a small furry alien, and a large model of the Starship Enterprise.

A spokesperson for the First Minister said he was "delighted to boldly accept what no First Minister has accepted before. As a devotee of Star Trek since its earliest episodes, and a fan of Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura in particular from the original series, he is happy to add his name to the ranks of Starfleet members worldwide.

"And, as a native of Linlithgow, the First Minister is also happy to know that he shares a birthplace with Scotty, the Starship Enterprise's own Scotsman."

Salmond isn't the first politician to be hooked by the adventures of Captain James T Kirk and his crew. US President Barack Obama told an audience in Wyoming: "I grew up on Star Trek. I believe in the final frontier."