A Kanak grand chief and former member of the French Senate, Hilarion Vendegou, has died in Noumea at the age of 78.
Mr Vendegou has also been the mayor of the Isle of Pines in the south of New Caledonia.
Hilarion Vendegou. Photo: Facebook / Le Rassemblement - les Républicains
He entered politics as a member of the pro-independence Caledonian Union but soon switched sides to work with Jacques Lafleur's anti-independence RPCR.
Tributes have been made by the New Caledonian president and the president of the Southern Province who called him a brother in politics and a committed loyalist.
The French High Commissioner said Mr Vendegou was a tireless activist defending his territory.
