Pristina, Serbia-Montenegro ? Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova died of lung cancer Saturday, leaving the province’s fractious political scene in disarray just before the start of crucial talks on whether it should gain the independence from Serbia that was his lifelong dream.

His departure leaves a leadership vacuum at the most sensitive time since the Kosovo war ended in 1999.

International leaders appealed for calm and unity in the disputed U.N.-administered province. The Serb government expressed fears that Rugova’s successor might not share his commitment to nonviolence.

The much-anticipated talks between ethnic Albanians and Serb officials to determine Kosovo’s future had been scheduled to begin Wednesday in Vienna, Austria. But the talks were postponed until February following the death of the man who came to embody ethnic Albanian aspirations for independence.

Rugova, 61, was surrounded by family at his home in Pristina when he died just before midday, said his spokesman, Muhamet Hamiti.

“He carried his battle with cancer with great dignity and courage until his last breath,” Hamiti said.

Rugova often was called the “Gandhi of the Balkans” – an allusion to the Indian leader’s epic nonviolent campaign for his nation’s independence. He had been at the center of Kosovo politics for more than 15 years, leading the nonviolent struggle against repression under former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since NATO launched a bombing campaign to end a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian rebel separatists in 1999.

Rugova is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.