SINGAPORE: The former president of Singapore, SR Nathan, is in critical condition after suffering a stroke this morning, the Prime Minister’s Office announced today.
Nathan, 92, is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit at Singapore General Hospital. He was reported to have suffered a stroke in April last year.
He was Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia in 1988, and ambassador to the United States from 1990 to 1996. He was later elected unopposed as the sixth president of Singapore for two terms, from 1999 to 2011.
He stepped down on Aug 31, 2011 and was succeeded by the current President, former Cabinet minister Tony Tan Keng Yam.
A lifelong civil servant, Sellapan Ramanathan rose to be permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry, director of military intelligence, and chairman of Singapore Press Holdings, publisher of The Straits Times, among other positions.