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Former Fijian Broadcasting Corporation General Manager and longest-serving Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Hugh Leonard, has died in Brisbane at the age of 88.

Leonard died on 21 September 2026, ending a broadcasting career that spanned more than four decades and was closely linked to Fiji and the development of broadcasting across the Asia-Pacific.

Born in Greymouth, New Zealand, Leonard lived in Fiji from 1960 to 1985.

He began his career as a radio announcer and disc jockey before rising to become head of English programmes and later General Manager of FBC.

His association with the ABU began in 1974 when he attended his first General Assembly as an FBC representative.

He later became an ABU Vice President before being elected Secretary-General in 1985, a position he held until 2002.

Leonard served 17 years as the union’s chief executive during a period of major transformation in global broadcasting.

Under his leadership, the ABU navigated the region’s transition to digital broadcasting and the rapid expansion of television and new technologies.

After stepping down, Leonard was asked to remain for another year to document the union’s history.

His book, Four Decades of Unity, became the definitive history of the ABU.

He was elected an ABU honorary councillor in July 2003.

His final ABU General Assembly appearance came in Macau in 2014, when he returned to mark the organisation’s 50th anniversary.

Reflecting on the changing relationship between broadcasters and audiences, Leonard wrote that broadcasting was increasingly becoming a two-way process.

“The technology is there to make that happen, and it is being used,” he wrote.

After retiring in 2003, Leonard moved to Brisbane to be closer to his family.

Beyond broadcasting, he enjoyed restoring old English motorbikes and flying remote-controlled model aeroplanes.

He also served on an eminent jury panel in 2009 that selected the winner of the University of Queensland’s Communication and Social Change Award.

Leonard is survived by his wife, Pauline, and their three children, Linda, Diane and Brendan, who all live in Australia.