By Andrew Brown, Andrea Hayward and Katelyn Catanzariti

SIMON Crean is being hailed as a giant of the labour movement, who extended the same love and devotion he gave his family, to the nation.

The 74-year-old former federal Labor leader, who will be farewelled at a state funeral, died suddenly after exercising in Berlin on Sunday.

His family said they were devastated after his unexpected death.

“The most loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather, he extended that same love and devotion to his many friends, community and to our nation,” the Crean family said in a statement on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Crean had made a significant contribution across the Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard governments.

“Simon was a great servant of the Labor Party and of the broader labour movement,” Mr Albanese said.

“Above all he was a thoroughly decent human being who was kind, generous and always of good humour.”

Having served his country with great distinction, Mr Crean would be a loss to the Labor party, former prime minister Paul Keating said.

“Simon was an honourable participant in the game of politics, eschewing internecine cabals and trickiness,” Mr Keating said.

“He was straight up and down, always looking beyond factional games for positive policy advances.”

Asked if Labor regretted a leadership spill that took out Mr Crean, Mr Albanese said no-one in the party since believed installing Mark Latham as leader was a good idea.

Mr Latham was narrowly elected leader over Kim Beazley, who challenged Mr Crean for the leadership in 2003.

As ACTU vice-president, Mr Crean played a key role in bringing about the Accord between unions and employers in 1983.

Mr Albanese said history had vindicated Mr Crean’s principled decision to oppose the Iraq War, which at the time had been “deeply counter to the prevailing political and media climate”.

Elected to the Victorian seat of Hotham in 1990, Mr Crean became science minister in the Hawke government.

Narrowly missing out on the deputy leadership after Labor’s election loss in 1996, he took on the position two years later after another election defeat.

After a third consecutive loss in November 2001 he was elected unopposed as leader.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard said Mr Crean dedicated his life to Labor values.

“He hated injustice and fought hard to bring opportunity to all,” she said.

He was respected across the political divide.

Former prime minister John Howard said Mr Crean’s loss would be keenly felt throughout the labour movement.

“He was a formidable adversary who I both liked and respected,” Mr Howard said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said Mr Crean’s intellect and decency was admirable.

“I always found him to be a true professional, a gentleman, somebody who was easy to deal with,” Mr Dutton said.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to “a thoroughly admirable man”.

“He never made the mistake of identifying the wellbeing of the country with his own personal advancement,” he said.

Mr Crean was among the party’s greatest, Labor national president Wayne Swan said.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, who replaced Mr Crean in Hotham, said he was integral to political events and industrial relations for four decades.

“Every step of the way Simon backed me in my career and I saw him doing the same to so many other Labor women,” she said.

After leaving politics, Mr Crean chaired the European Australian Business Council.

Mr Crean is survived by his wife of 50 years Carole, his daughters Sarah and Emma and grandchildren.