TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Former Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) passed away at the age of 87, the Democratic Progressive Party said Saturday.

Chang served two terms as premier, from 2000 to 2002 as the first-ever DPP member to occupy the post, and from 2007 to 2008, both times under President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), who serves as DPP chair, expressed his condolences and promised assistance to the family, the Liberty Times reported.

Trained as a lawyer, Chang defended human rights activists prosecuted during Martial Law, and later served as a legislator for 17 years. In 1994, he lost a bid to become Kaohsiung’s first elected mayor in two decades.

After his first term as premier, Chang served as the chair of the Straits Exchange Foundation from 2005 to 2007. He became the sixth and final premier of the Chen administration.