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Former president SR Nathan in critical condition after stroke: PMO

SINGAPORE — The Republic’s sixth and longest-serving President, Mr S R Nathan, suffered a stroke early Sunday (July 31) morning and is in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Singapore General Hospital.

Members of Parliament observing a minute of silence on Tuesday (Sept 13) in memory of the late Mr S R Nathan. Photo: Channel NewsAsia

Members of Parliament observing a minute of silence on Tuesday (Sept 13) in memory of the late Mr S R Nathan. Photo: Channel NewsAsia

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SINGAPORE  — The Republic’s sixth and longest-serving President, Mr S R Nathan, suffered a stroke early Sunday (July 31) morning and is in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Singapore General Hospital. 

This is the second stroke the 92-year-old has suffered in two years. He had been recovering from a stroke in April last year and had been undergoing therapy.

Mr Nathan was once described by Mr Lee Kuan Yew as an “indispensable man for all seasons”.

And from the time Mr Nathan entered the civil service as a medical social worker in 1955 to his eventual office as President, which he served as for two six-year terms, he has been seen as the consummate model servant to his country.

His service to Singapore was hailed by his many of his visitors at SGH yesterday, who included Cabinet ministers past and present, current President Tony Tan, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and former Community Chest chairman Jennie Chua.

Over the years, Mr Nathan had been asked numerous times to foray into uncharted territory, and out of duty, he always obliged. 

Arguably, the greatest task his country bestowed on him was when Singapore’s first Elected President Ong Teng Cheong announced he would not be running for another term, and Mr Nathan’s name was thrown up as one of the possible candidates. 

Although he expressed his surprise with Mr Lee, who was then Senior Minister, the veteran civil servant eventually agreed to run for office. When he was sworn in on Sept 1, 1999, Mr Nathan vowed that “every community of Singaporeans would be his parish”.

At age 81, he was asked to run for a second term and was return unopposed again. In 2011, he stepped down from office after announcing that he would not seek a third term, and was succeeded by President Tan. 

Over his years in the Istana, he also contributed by mooting some changes that were taken up by Parliament, such as reducing the terms for members of the Council of Presidential Advisers from six to four years.

But it was his roots in social work where Mr Nathan perhaps made the biggest impact as President. In 2000, for instance, he suggested holding one umbrella fundraising programme – called the President’s Challenge – which consolidated donations for various charities. 

Well before taking up his most public role in Singapore, Mr Nathan had a wide-ranging career to his name.

In 1974, when he was security and intelligence chief at the Defence Ministry, after a short stint in Home Affairs, four terrorists from the Japanese Red Army and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine bombed the Shell oil refinery complex on Pulau Bukom.

They took five crew members of the ferry Laju hostage, and Mr Nathan volunteered to accompany the hijackers to Kuwait as a guarantee of safe passage, in order to secure the civilian hostages’ release. 

When the Kuwaiti authorities refused to allow the terrorists’ plane to land, the skilled negotiator broke the impasse after a tense week. Mr Nathan and his team of four Singapore Armed Forces commandos returned to a hero’s welcome. He received a National Day Award, the Meritorious Medal, later that year. 

Between 1982 and 1988, Mr Nathan served as executive chairman of the Straits Times Press and also held directorship of various other companies such as the Singapore Mint and Marshall Cavendish.

He was posted back to the Foreign Affairs Ministry where he became High Commissioner to Malaysia and then Ambassador to the United States.

Since 2011, Mr Nathan took up appointments as Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and at the Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences.

In 2013, Mr Nathan was awarded the Order of Temasek (First Class) for exemplary service to the nation, the top National Day award that has been given only to six other people.

Just two weeks ago, he was also conferred with the Outstanding Member of the South Asian Diaspora award for his work in forging closer ties with India.

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