Former Vanuatu MP Sela Molisa told Radio New Zealand that “Vanuatu has lost one of its greatest leaders.”

Lonsdale, a civil servant before becoming an Anglican priest, was elected to the presidency in 2014.

Although the role was considered largely ceremonial, Lonsdale became a symbol of hope for Vanuatu when Cyclone Pam caused severe damage in the country in early 2015.

Six months later he steered the country through a political crisis when half the government of Prime Minster Sato Kilman was convicted of corruption, making them ineligible for office.

After one of the convicted MPs, then-Speaker of Parliament Marcellino Pipite, pardoned himself and 13 colleagues in his capacity as acting president while Lonsdale was overseas, Lonsdale returned to dissolve parliament and call a snap election which saw Kilman’s government defeated.

“He was firm and wouldn’t be swayed,” Molisa said. “I’m sure the government and every other -- especially at the political level -- people would recognize that Vanuatu has lost a very outstanding leader.”