The Nunatsiavut Government is mourning the passing of its very first elected president and a man who had a significant impact on the people of northern Labrador.

Jim Lyall passed away in hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Friday following a lengthy illness, just hours after the passing of his wife Jean who had only recently taken ill.

Lyall, who operated a successful restaurant and takeout in Nain for nearly two decades, was born in Nutak in 1945. He and his family were forced to move to Nain as part of the provincial government’s resettlement program when he was 11.

He served as the Executive Director of the Labrador Inuit Association from 1977 to 1981 and served for a time as Postmaster in Nain.

He resumed the position of Executive Director the LIA in 2002 and held the position until the formation of the Nunatsiavut Government in 2005.

He was a Justice of the Peace, served two terms as mayor of Nain and was successful in becoming the first elected President of Nunatsiavut in 2008, a position he held until 2012.

Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe says there are no words to take away the pain and sorrow felt by Lyall’s family at such a difficult time. He says the community has lost a great leader who made a tremendous contribution to the advancement of the rights, issues and concerns of all Labrador Inuit.