Former External Affairs Minister (EAM) K Natwar Singh passed away late Saturday night at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram after a prolonged illness. His last rites will be performed tomorrow, as reported by news agency ANI. He was 93 and had been admitted to the Medanta Hospital for the past couple of weeks. Singh was born in 1931 in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district.

Singh, a Congress veteran, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1984. He had served as an external affairs minister in UPA-I government led by then prime minister Manmohan Singhand also served as India's Ambassador to Pakistan besides holding other senior diplomatic positions.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled his demise. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, PM Modi wrote, “Pained by the passing away of Shri Natwar Singh Ji. He made rich contributions to the world of diplomacy and foreign policy. He was also known for his intellect as well as prolific writing. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti.”

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also paid tribute to the former external affairs minister in a post on X. “The news of the demise of former Foreign Minister Natwar Singh ji is sad. May God give strength to his family to bear this loss and grant peace to the departed soul,” he wrote on the microblogging site in Hindi and also posted a photograph of Singh.

Who Was Natwar Singh

- Natwar Singh joined politics after spending decades in the country's prestigious foreign services.

- According to news agency PTI, Singh served as ambassador to Pakistan and was attached to the office of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1971.

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- Singh resigned from the service and contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Congress ticket in 1984. He won the election and served as a union minister of state until 1989. He again became a union minister in 2004. However, he resigned after 18 months over an alleged Iraqi oil scam pay-off scandal.

- He had authored several books including, ‘The Legacy of Nehru: A Memorial Tribute’ and ’My China Diary 1956-88’. His autobiography is titled ‘One Life is Not Enough’.