Indian-origin former Singapore President Sellapan Ramanathan popularly known as S R Nathan died after suffering a stroke. A veteran public servant, 92-year-old Nathan passed away peacefully at Singapore General Hospital. He was also closely associated with the country’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew. He was the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore and served two terms from
1999 to 2011. He officially stepped down as President on August 31, 2011 after announcing that he would not seek a third term. Nathan was succeeded by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.
• After stepping down as President, Nathan took up appointments as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and at the Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences.
• Prior to becoming President, he held key positions in the civil service, as well as in security, intelligence and foreign affairs.
• He was appointed as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in 1988 and later Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States of America from 1990 to 1996.
• Nathan also served as Singapore’s Ambassador-at-Large, and later pro-chancellor of the National University of Singapore.
• Nathan was survived by his wife, daughter, son and three grandchildren.
• He was honoured by the Outstanding Member of the South Asian Diaspora award for his dedicated and notable work in forging closer ties with India earlier this year.
About Singapore
Currency: Singapore dollar
Capital: Singapore
Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Official languages: English, Tamil, Malay, Standard Mandarin
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