A 70-year-old man who died at Reedy Marsh on Tuesday night was a genuine Tasmanian, former Gray Government Minister Ian Braid said.
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Mr Braid paid tribute to Michael Hawkes after police released his name on Thursday.
Mr Hawkes was a parliamentary driver who drove Mr Braid back and forward from Sheffield to Parliament House in Hobart.
"He drove me for 10 and half years and I got to know him very well," Mr Braid.
"I was shattered when I heard the news yesterday when I heard when I heard his life was sadly taken.
"He was a true gentleman, he was a great friend to me and a great driver.
"I met him on the 27th of May 1982 when he picked me up at Parliament House to take me to Government House to be sworn in as a Minister."
Mr Braid said that he and Mr Hawkes' wife Judy had kept in touch after he left politics.
"He attended family functions and last year attended my wife's 80th birthday party," Mr Braid said.
"He was a magnificent driver, your life was in his hands and he was a really a great person, he knew when you wanted to read and when you wanted to talk.
"He was a real friend like a brother," he said.
He said Mr Hawkes built a brick home at Reedy Marsh after he retired.
"He was a tradesman and served in the Royal Australian Navy for a time," he said.
Mr Braid was Minister for Main Roads, Lands, Local Government and Construction during the years Mr Hawkes drove him.
"He drove me around when we were building the velodrome, the Lake Barrington Rd and all road programs," he said.
"His integrity was impeccable and he was a very good sounding board."
Mr Braid said Mr Hawkes was keen on physical fitness with a particular interest in weightlifting.
"He was a real trim body," he said.
Mr Braid extended his deepest sympathies to Mr Hawkes' wife Judy.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney voiced her condolences to the family.
"We are providing support to those Government employees who know this gentleman and will continue to do so," she said.
Ms Courtney said some drivers knew Mr Hawkes well.
"They are a close knit group of workers and they work in unusual circumstances and obviously develop close relationships with each other and the Ministers they drive," Ms Courtney said.