Singapore's longest-serving president dies at age 92

By Kirsten Han

SINGAPORE (AA) – Singapore's 92-year-old former President Sellapan Ramanathan has died in hospital after suffering a stroke at the end of July, the Prime Minister's Office said Monday night.

Ramanathan, more widely known as S R Nathan, had been warded in the Singapore General Hospital since suffering a stroke July 31.

"The late Mr. Nathan passed away peacefully at Singapore General Hospital on Monday at 9.48 pm," said the statement posted on the Facebook page of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

He had been a long-time civil servant, beginning his career as a medical social worker in 1955.

His time in the civil service also included appointments as Singapore's high commissioner to Malaysia and ambassador to the United States.

He left the civil service in 1999 to stand in the presidential elections. He was unopposed, and was President of the Republic of Singapore from 1999 to 2011, making him the country's longest-serving president.

"Mr. Nathan’s life is an inspiration to us all. His was a story of how a young boy strove to triumph over his circumstances and make a contribution to society," Lee wrote on his Facebook page in tribute. "He held many public service posts, and occupied the highest office in the land."