Former President R Venkataraman, who ushered in three prime ministers in two years when coalition politics made its advent in India in the late eighties, died on Tuesday following multiple organ failure.
The 98-year-old former President, who was admitted to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) on January 12 with complaints of Urosepsis (a toxic condition caused by the extravasations of urine into bodily tissues), died at 2.30 pm.
"The former President passed away at around 2.30 pm. His wife and son-in-law were beside him when he breathed his last," the hospital's administrative head Brigadier A K Sharma told PTI.
Venkataraman was admitted to the hospital with complaints of delirium and dehydration.
Earlier in the day, the hospital said he was suffering from multi-organ failure and was on advanced life support systems including ventilatory support, continuous haemodialysis and drugs to keep his blood pressure normal.
Venkataraman, who was elevated from Vice Presidency, had served as the eighth President of India. His tenure lasted from July 25, 1987 to July 25, 1992.
A Congressman of the old genre, Venkataraman had held various posts at the Centre, including Minister of Finance at a time when India negotiated the first World Bank loan, in the early eighties.
He had also held the post of Defence Minister, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and was in-charge of the Home Ministry for some time.
Venkataraman leaves behind his wife Janaki and three daughters.
Ramaswamy Venkataraman, who had prided himself as being a copybook President, worked with four prime ministers and ushered in three of them -- V P Singh, Chandrashekhar and P V Narasimha Rao, between the winter of 1989 and the summer of 1991, a result of the electorate throwing a hung verdict and bringing in coalition politics.
The late Rajiv Gandhi had chosen him to be the Congress candidate for Presidency in 1987 after he had served as Vice President for five years.
A meticulous administrator known for having an eye for details, Venkataraman, a lawyer by profession, made his mark in whichever portfolio he held. He was known for his pithy and concise replies in Parliament.
With the late C Subramanyam, Venkataraman had worked in the Cabinet of K Kamraj in the then Madras state and was responsible for industrialisation of the state. During that time, Madras saw a number of central projects and the base being laid for auto and other industries that Tamil Nadu is now known for.
Born on December 4, 1910 in Rajamadam in Tamil Nadu, Venkataraman was elected to free India's provisional Parliament and to the first Parliament in 1952.
