The Fiji Labour Party says the death of Savenaca Siwatibau, the vice-chancellor of the University of the South Pacific, is a great loss to Fiji and to the region.
Mr Siwatibau, who was at one time the secretary of finance and then the first governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, died in his early sixties from cancer.
Lekh Ram Vyashnoi says Mr Siwatibau was an economist who was widely respected.
"Mr Siwatibau has been regarded as one of Fiji's ablest sons. We know he was fighting for his life for some time but his death at this critical stage in Fiji's history comes as a great loss. The Fiji Labour Party had always held him in the highest regard because of his levelheadedness, his ability to remain cool in times of crisis and his deep commitment to the nation and the South Pacific region as well."
Fiji's prime minister, Laisenia Qarase, says it's a tremendous loss for Fiji and the Pacific because Mr Siwatibau was intelligent and talented with so much to offer.
