CANBERRA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian political leaders on Friday remembered former Prime Minister Bob Hawke after his death on Thursday night.

Hawke served as prime minister between 1983 and 1991, and was the longest-serving Australian Labor Party (ALP) prime minister.

His death came two days ahead of the nation's federal election. Current Labor leader Bill Shorten, who counts Hawke among his political inspirations, leads the opposition ALP over the incumbent Liberal-National Party coalition (LNP) 51-49 on two-party preferred terms according to the latest Newspoll, one of the nation's leading opinion polls.

Shorten praised the former leader as the "greatest son" of the labor movement, crediting him with establishing a world-class university sector, universal healthcare, a modern economy and with protecting Australia's natural resources.

"He was one of the reasons why I joined the Labor Party," Shorten said during an appearance on Nine Network television on Friday.

Meanwhile, Scott Morrison, Australia's incumbent prime minister, said "all Australians could connect with Bob Hawke."

"That I think was his great charm and his great strength and that enabled him to take the country with him on quite a number of important things," Morrison said.

Hawke presided as Australia undertook a historic shift to embrace free trade.

He opened Australia up to Asia and deepened ties with China, and helped found the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Along with Treasurer Paul Keating, who succeeded him as prime minister in 1991, he floated the Australian dollar on the global currency market.