New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader and former External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh passed away in New Delhi on Saturday night after prolonged illness. He was 93.
The former union minister breathed his last at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram near Delhi, where he was undergoing treatment for the last couple of weeks.
Born in 1931 in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, K Natwar Singh was a diplomat before he joined politics.
“His son is there at the hospital, and many more family members are coming to Delhi from his native state for the last rites planned on Sunday in Delhi. He was not keeping well for some time,” a family member told reporters.
He died late Saturday night, the source said.
A former Congress MP, K Natwar Singh was India’s External Affairs Minister for the period 2004-05 during the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA-I government.
After joining the Indian Foreign Service at the age of 22 in 1953, Singh embarked on a distinguished diplomatic career.
He served as India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1977, subsequently taking on the role of High Commissioner to Zambia in 1977.
His career further ascended when he was appointed as India’s Ambassador to Pakistan from 1980 to 1982, a particularly critical period in Indo-Pakistani relations.
Natwar Singh, who authored several books, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984.