BERLIN: Former German "super minister" Wolfgang Clement, who helped push through controversial job market reforms in the early 2000s, died Sunday at the age of 80.

Clement had been suffering from lung cancer and died overnight at his home in Bonn, his spokeswoman said.

Long seen as a leading light of the centrist branch of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Clement leaves behind a complex legacy.

A former journalist, Clement worked his way up the party ranks and served from 1998 to 2002 as prime minister of North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, before being tapped by then-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to switch to national politics.

From 2002 to 2005, Clement held the labour and economics portfolios at the same time, earning him the nickname "super minister".