The Indian-origin former Singapore President S.R. Nathan passed away days after suffering a stroke. He was 92.
He was the sixth and longest-serving President of Singapore. He was closely associated with the country’s founding leader Lee Kuan Yew.
About S.R Nathan
- Born as Sellapan Ramanathan on 3 July 1924 in the family of Indian Tamil descent in Straits Settlements of Singapore.
- He had served as President of Singapore for two terms from 1999 to 2011. He was elected unopposed as President for first time in August 1999.
- He officially stepped down in August 2011 after announcing that he would not seek a third term.
- After stepping down he had worked as Distinguished Senior Fellow at Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences.
- Prior to becoming President, he held key positions in the Singapore Civil Service and also in security, intelligence and foreign affairs.
- In 1988, he was appointed as Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and later Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States from 1990 to 1996.
- Awards and honours: Government of India had conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Award) upon him in 2012 in recognition of his contribution in building closer links between India and Singapore.