South Africa's former Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has died at the age of 75.

The news was confirmed by his family in a media statement.

Gordhan was admitted to the hospital earlier this week, where his family said that "he died peacefully surrounded by his family, closest friends, and lifelong comrades in the liberation struggle in the early hours of this morning.".

Bidding those closest to him farewell, the family described Gordhan as emphatic, his last words being, “I have no regrets, no regrets… We have made our contribution.”

He is survived by his wife Vanitha, and his daughters Anisha and Priyesha.

Born in 1949, Gordhan made his mark in South African politics when he became an activist in his teenage years. During the apartheid era, he joined the Natal Indian Congress in 1971 and, has since then served the country in different roles, first as an activist against apartheid and as a minister in democratic South Africa.