Vanuatu's President Baldwin Lonsdale, standing under an umbrella, listens to a question during an interview with Reuters, after attending the third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), in Tokyo, March 16, 2015, before leaving to return home. REUTERS/Issei Kato

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Vanuatu’s President Reverend Baldwin Lonsdale has died suddenly at the age 67, the Vanuatu Daily Post newspaper reported on Saturday.

Lonsdale, an Anglican priest who was appointed to the largely ceremonial role in September 2014, died in Port Vila, the Pacific Island nation’s capital, early on Saturday, the newspaper said.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Lonsdale had suffered a heart attack.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Twitter she was saddened to hear of Lonsdale’s death.

“Condolences to his family, the government and people of Vanuatu,” she said.

(This story corrects spelling of Vanuatu capital to Port Vila in paragraph two)