A state funeral was held in Bougainville on Friday for one of the Papua New Guinea autonomous province's most celebrated sons.
Dr Alexis Sarei died last week after several years of illness.
The 80 year old former Catholic priest held various senior political roles - not least as president of the breakaway North Solomons; then premier of Bougainville province on two occasions in the 1970s and 1980s.
He spent a number of years overseas, including as the PNG High Commissioner to London, before becoming an MP again in the second ABG parliament.
A man in a fishing canoe/boat in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea Photo: RNZI / Don Wiseman
President John Momis called Dr Sarei's passing an immense loss for the people of Bougainville.
