PARIS, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Wim Duisenberg, former president of the Dutch Central Bank and first president of the European Central Bank (ECB), was found dead at his villa in southern France, French police said on Sunday.

    Duisenberg, 70, has presided the launch of the euro currency and served as ECB president from June 1998 until he stepped down early in October 2003 in favour of Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet.

    "He (Duisenberg) was found dead in his swimming pool this morning," said a spokesman for Marseille police quoted by French TF1 news channel.

    An autopsy showed Duisenberg had drowned after an unspecified cardiac problem, a regional prosecutor said.

    Born July 9, 1935, in the Dutch town of Heerenveen, Duisenberg attained a Ph.D. from the University of Groningen in 1965. After teaching economics and a stint at the International Monetary Fund,in 1973 he became finance minister in the Social Democratic cabinet of Prime Minister Joop den Uyl.

    Former Dutch finance minister and head of the Dutch central bank,Duisenberg was responsible for the introduction of euro notesand coins to 305 million people from Lisbon to Helsinki in 2002. History's biggest cash changeover involved the distribution of 15 billion banknotes and 50 billion coins.

    French Finance Minister Thierry Breton hailed Duisenberg as a "great servant of Europe" and a man who "had played a central role in the successful launch of the euro and contributed to European economic stability".

    French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin expressed Sunday evening his grief in the wake of the death of Wim Duisenberg and addressed his condolences to the current president of ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet and to ECB staff, saying Duisenberg played a "primordial role" in the "establishment of the common currency". Enditem