By Rachael Ward and William Ton

Former defence minister and Liberal Party stalwart Kevin Andrews has died aged 69.

Mr Andrews died on Friday with his wife Margie by his side, his family announced in a statement shared by former prime minister Tony Abbott on social media.

He had been battling cancer for the past year.

“We are deeply proud of his service to our country, our local community and his party, although shattered by his death after a year-long battle with cancer,” the statement said.

“Kevin was devoted to his country, his family, and his faith and lived a full life of service.

“Right up to his death, he was working on a number of projects, including his memoirs, which we will endeavour to have published posthumously.”

The father of five represented the blue ribbon seat of Menzies in Melbourne’s east for three decades, holding prominent cabinet positions in the Howard and Abbott coalition governments.

He was a senior figure in the Liberal Party’s right wing who championed conservative causes and served at various times as minister for defence, social services, immigration, ageing and workplace relations.

Mr Andrews was born in the Gippsland town of Sale in eastern Victoria and moved to Melbourne to study law at both Monash University and the University of Melbourne.

He worked as an associate to Sir James Gobbo at the Supreme Court of Victoria before leaving to become a barrister.

After six years he moved into politics, winning Menzies in a 1991 by-election which he held for the next 31 years.

He rose to prominence while still a backbencher when he introduced the Andrews Bill in 1996, which restricted the rights of the ACT and Northern Territory to make euthanasia laws.

The legislation remained in place for the next 25 years before being repealed in 2023.

As a cabinet minister, he pushed for several controversial pieces of legislation, including a citizenship test and industrial relations package WorkChoices.

He nominated the reforms among his achievements in his valedictory speech to parliament, although WorkChoices faced strong opposition and was a major factor in the coalition’s defeat in the 2007 election.

He backed Mr Abbott when Malcolm Turnbull challenged him for the leadership in 2015, unsuccessfully standing for deputy leader against Julie Bishop on the same day.

A devoted Catholic, Mr Andrews advocated for traditional family values and opposed abortion, same-sex marriage and stem cell research.

He married his wife Margaret in 1979.

Mr Andrews retired in 2022 after losing a pre-selection battle for Menzies, the first time a sitting federal Liberal MP was unseated in a Victorian preselection battle in more than three decades.

He was the longest-serving member of parliament at the time and in his final speech said he entered politics to make a difference.

“It was a concern that government was not acknowledging and responding adequately to the needs of families, particularly those with children, that motivated me to stand for election in the first place,” he said in March 2022.

Mr Andrews also worked as a sports reporter, race caller and authored multiple books on topics including marriage, Italian cycling and a biography of Australia’s 10th prime minister Joseph Lyons.