Former Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak delivers a speech during the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) on 30 November 2015 at Le Bourget, on the outskirts of the French capital Paris. Photo: ALAIN JOCARD / AFP
Former Marshall Islands President Iroojlaplap Christopher Loeak has passed away at the age of 72.
He died on 8 August in Hawaii, where he had been under medical care.
Loeak served as the Micronesian nation's leader from 2012 to 2016.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine has declared a week-long national mourning period from 28 August to 3 September.
National flags will fly at half-mast in honour of Loeak.
He was born and raised on Aelonlaplap Atoll and he represented his home atoll in the Nitijela (parliament) from 1986 until he retired in 2023.
A former advisor to Loeak described him as "humble and friendly".
"I first came to RMI in 2013 and worked in the OP [Office of the President]. I was awed by his modesty and simplicity," Mahendra Kumar wrote on Facebook.
"His humble and friendly disposition made him so approachable. He leaves a legacy of humility and great humanity, notwithstanding his high positions in society and government. May his soul rest in peace."
