A former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Doug Anthony has died, aged 90, in a rest home in north-east New South Wales.
He died peacefully in the Heritage Lodge aged-care home in Murwillumbah on Sunday morning, his family said.
He was the member for Richmond for nearly 30 years.
Anthony was leader of the Country party, later renamed the National party, for 12 years and deputy prime minister for nearly 10, influencing Coalition policies for much of the 1970s and 80s.
He served under six prime ministers, starting with Sir Robert Menzies.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said Anthony “was a man with no pretences who was passionate about regional Australia”.
As primary industry minister, he established the Australian Wool Corporation, Morrison said in a statement.
“As trade and resources minister, Doug worked to modernise and expand our trade agreement with New Zealand, opened up the uranium industry in Australia, and sought to expand trade with Japan, China and the Middle East.”
The deputy prime minister and Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, said “rural and regional Australia has lost one of our greatest today”.
“The outcomes Doug Anthony secured for regional and rural Australia have stood the test of time,” McCormack said.
“He was dedicated to ensuring country Australians had a strong voice in government and that they were not just listened to, but that they were front of mind for government decision-makers.”
He was a man of “decency, integrity, purpose and resolve”, McCormack said.
“Tales of him in the capacity of acting prime minister and leading the country from his caravan on the New South Wales north coast make up the political fabric of our party and our nation.”
The Nationals deputy leader, David Littleproud, said Anthony epitomised the finest qualities of leadership and service, leaving a significant legacy for future generations of National party representatives to uphold.
Among others to pay tribute, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull described Anthony as “a great Australian”.
“An eloquent and committed advocate for an Australian republic often sharing a platform with his Liberal partner Malcolm Fraser and their old Labor rivals Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke,” Turnbull tweeted.
He is survived by his wife Margot, his three children and nine grandchildren.
“Although Doug was privileged to serve the people of Australia in high office, he always considered his family to be his greatest legacy and contribution to the world,” the family said.
“He was very much a man of the Tweed region, and it is fitting that he should depart this life from within the community that he loved so much.
“His family is tremendously proud of his legacy. While always very humble, he made a lasting contribution to the nation, and particularly to people in country Australia.”