Ex-president S R Nathan dies
Yahoo file photo
Former Singapore president S R Nathan has died, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Monday (22 Aug). He was 92.
“The Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are sad to learn of the passing of Mr S R Nathan and would like to convey their condolences to his family. The late Mr Nathan passed away peacefully at Singapore General Hospital on Monday at 9.48 pm. He was 92.,” the PMO said in its statement.
“Arrangements for the public to pay respects and for the funeral will be announced later,” the PMO added.
Nathan was hospitalised on 31 July and had been in intensive care after suffering a stroke. He is survived by his wife Urmila Nandi, two children and three grandchildren.
Nathan, Singapore’s sixth and longest-serving president, served for 12 years after succeeding the late Ong Teng Cheong in 1999.
Early life
He was born in 1924, and spent much of his childhood in Muar, Johor, where his father held a clerical job in the rubber industry. The family moved back to Singapore in the 1930s following the decline of the rubber industry.
Nathan was educated at Anglo-Chinese Primary School, Anglo-Chinese Middle School, Rangoon Road Afternoon School and Victoria School. He later attended the University of Malaya,, graduating with a diploma in social studies.
During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore (1942–45), he learned Japanese and eventually became a translator and interpreter for the top official in the Japanese civilian police.
The civil servant
Nathan inspects an honour guard in New Delhi in 2003. Photo: Reuters
Nathan had a long and distinguished career in the civil service, starting as a medical social worker in 1955.
From 1971-79, Nathan was director of the Security and Intelligence Division, when he dealt with a number of terrorist acts.
In 1974, he led a negotiation team to resolve the Laju hostage crisis, when terrorists attacked an oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom and took five hostages. All five emerged from the crisis unharmed.
Nathan was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1979-82. He also served as executive chairman of Straits Times Press, High Commissioner to Malaysia and Ambassador to the United States.
Becoming president
In 1999, Nathan was serving as Singapore’s ambassador-at-large when then-President Ong Teng Cheong decided not to run for office again. Nathan was then asked to run for president by several public figures, including the late Lee Kuan Yew.
Nathan became the only eligible candidate after two other potential candidates failed to meet the constitutional criteria to run. He was then sworn into office on 1 Sept, 1999. Nathan was re-elected in 2005 for a second term without contest, as there were again no eligible challengers.
In 2009, Nathan approved the government’s application to use almost $5 billion from the national reserves to fight the recession. It was the first time that the government used part of the reserves, a move which requires the approval of the president and the Council of Presidential Advisers.
This obituary was compiled with information from numerous sources, including The Straits Times and The National Library Board.
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