Former President Ramaswamy Venkataraman passed away on Tuesday at 02:30 p.m. at the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi. He was suffering from multi-organ failure and was on advanced life support systems, including ventilator support and continuous hemodialysis.
Venkataraman, 98, was admitted to the hospital on January 12, 2009 with complains of Urosepsis - a toxic condition caused by the extravasations of urine into bodily tissues.
He had served the country as the eighth president of India from July 25, 1987 to July 25, 1992. Before electing to president he also served the nation as the seventh vice-president for four years from August 31, 1984 to July 25, 1987.
He was preceded by Muhammad Hidayat Ullah as Vice-President, and Giani Zail Singh as the President.
Before assigning the post of vice-president, he worked as Union Minister of Finance in Indira Gandhi regime and later Union Minister of Defence in the same regime.
The President of India Pratibha Devi Singh Patil has expressed grief on his death and said in her condolence message, “Shri Venkataraman was a great parliamentarian and freedom fighter who actively participated in the Quit India Movement. I will always remember my personal interactions with him, especially when I was the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He served with distinction in various capacities in public life and ultimately rose to occupy the highest office of the nation. In his passing away, the nation has lost a true patriot and a distinguished luminary.”
Venkataraman was born in Rajamadam village of Pattukottai Taluk in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu on December 04, 1910. He was educated in Chennai (then Madras) and obtained his Master Degree in Economics from Madras University. He also qualified the law degree from the Law College, Madras and enrolled himself in the Madras High Court in 1935 and Supreme Court of India in 1951.
He held several ministerial positions in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha by winning several elections from Indian National Congress in his long and distinguished political career.
He also served on several other posts, including a member of the Political Affairs Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Union Cabinet; state governor; member of International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Asian Development Bank.
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