Martyn Butler, co-founder of the Terrence Higgins Trust, has died at 71. The Health Secretary led tributes following his death, which was announced today. Butler was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Princess Royal in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle.

Butler established the charity in 1982 after the death of his friend Terry Higgins, the first person in the UK to die of AIDS. He worked alongside Higgins’ partner, Rupert Whitaker, to create the organization to support people living with HIV and educate the public about prevention.

Butler was born in Newport, Wales, but moved to London in the 1970s, where he worked in advertising, cinema, and entertainment. He met Terry Higgins at Heaven nightclub, where the pair worked together. Butler used his home phone number for the charity’s first AIDS helpline in 1983.

He dedicated over five decades to the charity and was recognized for his services to charity and public health. His brother, Guy Hewett, expressed grief at the sudden loss but praised his dedication to raising awareness of HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s.

“He saw it as a duty to inform the country, and in particular the gay community, of what little information there was on HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s,” Hewett said. “He took great joy in seeing what Terrence Higgins Trust has become and stayed involved to the very end.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting called Butler a “tenacious campaigner for people living with HIV.” He credited Butler with both the foresight to establish the charity and the insight to name it after his friend to humanize the AIDS epidemic.

“As Health Secretary, it was my privilege to be part of his fifth decade of championing HIV prevention, support and remembrance,” Streeting said. “We are all forever in his debt and his legacy lives on.”

Gareth Thomas, former British Lions rugby captain and patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust, praised Butler’s Welsh roots and his long-term commitment to the cause.

“Martyn Butler founding Terrence Higgins Trust brought a distinctly Welsh feel to everything done by the organisation dedicated to a fellow Welshman,” Thomas said. “He was a trailblazer that stuck at the cause of supporting people living with HIV over five decades. I will not forget his smile and we continue the fight in his memory.”

Richard Angell, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, called the news a “shock” and described Butler as essential to the charity’s existence.

“Terrence Higgins Trust literally wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Martyn,” Angell said. “When it came to the organisation and people living with HIV, nothing was too much trouble for him. He was determined, spirited and never took no for an answer.”

Angell also praised Butler’s kindness and bravery, noting that he gave his home phone number as the first AIDS helpline in 1983. “He will be missed by the Terrence Higgins Trust family, his mother, siblings and the friends so lucky to spend time with him,” he added.