New Delhi: Former Union Minister Jaswant Singh passed away early on Sunday morning at 6.55 at Delhi’s Army Hospital (Research & Referral) where he was admitted in June.
He was being treated for Sepsis with Multiorgan Dysfunction Syndrome and effects of Severe Head Injury old (Optd) had a Cardiac arrest this morning, read a statement from the hospital.
Jaswant Singh was 82. He had served as India’s foreign minister, defense minister and finance minister. He was an officer in the Indian Army in the 1950s and 60s.
He was elected on a BJP ticket to the Rajya Sabha five times (1980, 1986, 1998, 1999, 2004) and to the Lok Sabha four times (1990, 1991, 1996, 2009). During the Vajpayee administration (1998-2004), he held some of the highest offices of the land, handling at various times the cabinet portfolios of Finance, External Affairs and Defence. He also served for a period as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (1998–99). In the aftermath of India’s nuclear tests of 1998, he was deputed by Prime Minister Vajpayee to act as India’s single representative to hold repeated, long-term dialogue with the USA (represented by Strobe Talbott) on matters related to nuclear policy and strategy; the outcome of the sustained engagement was positive for both countries. After his party lost power in 2004, Jaswant Singh served as Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
