Former president S R Nathan has passed away peacefully at Singapore General Hospital on Monday (Aug 22) evening at 9.48pm, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. At the age of 92, he was Singapore’s sixth and longest-serving president, with a term that lasted from 1999 to 2011.
Mr Nathan turned 92 last month and was hospitalised on July 31 after suffering a stroke. He had been at the Intensive Care Unit at SGH since then, staying in a coma for three weeks before his death.
His life was one filled with numerous impressive achievements. He served as Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1971; Director of the Security Intelligence Department later that year; First Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1979; Executive Chairman of the Straits Times Press in 1982; Ambassador to the United States of America in 1990; and held a directorship in the Singapore International Media Pte Ltd in 1996, among many other roles.
He was elected unopposed as President on Aug 18, 1999. Under his tutelage, he started the President’s Challenge initiative, which raised more than $80 million for over 400 of its beneficiaries.
Mr Nathan leaves behind his wife Urmila, son Osith, daughter Juthika and three grandchildren.
UPDATE: Mr Nathan will be receiving a State Funeral on Aug 26, while the State flag on all Government buildings will be flown at half-mast till Friday. His body will lie in state at Parliament House from 10am on Thursday to 12pm on Friday.
