The soft-spoken Manmohan Singh, described as a “reluctant king” in his first term as prime minister, was arguably one among India's most successful leaders.
The first Sikh in office, Singh, 92, was being treated for age-related illnesses and died after being rushed to hospital on Thursday following a sudden lack of consciousness.
He is credited with helping India achieve unprecedented economic growth and lifting lots of of hundreds of thousands of individuals out of abject poverty. He then served a rare second term.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “India mourns the loss of one of its most respected leaders, Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji.”
He praised the work of the economist-turned-politician.
Singh was born right into a poor family in an element of British-ruled India that’s now in Pakistan. He studied by candlelight to secure a spot at Cambridge University before going to Oxford and completing his doctorate with a thesis on the role of exports and free trade within the Indian economy.
He became a respected economist, then governor of India's central bank and government adviser, but had no apparent plans for a political profession when he was suddenly appointed finance minister in 1991.
During this term until 1996, Singh was the architect of reforms that rescued India's economy from a severe balance of payments crisis, promoting deregulation and other measures that opened an island country to the world.
He famously quoted Victor Hugo in his first budget speech, saying, “No power in the world can stop an idea whose time has come,” before adding, “The emergence of India as a major economic power of the world happens to be one such idea.” “
Singh's rise to prime ministership in 2004 was even more unexpected.
He was asked to take over the post by Sonia Gandhi, who led the center-left Congress party to a surprise victory. As a native of Italy, she feared that if she were to lead the country, her heritage would be exploited by Hindu nationalist opponents to attack the government.
During an unprecedented period of economic growth, Singh's government shared the spoils of the country's newfound wealth and introduced welfare programs such as an employment program for the rural poor.
In 2008, his administration also reached a landmark agreement that allowed peaceful trade in nuclear energy with the United States for the first time in three decades, paving the way for close ties between New Delhi and Washington.
But his efforts to further open the Indian economy often failed due to political disputes within his own party and demands from coalition partners.
“History will be kinder to me”
And although he was widely respected by other world leaders, Singh at all times had to withstand the concept at home that Sonia Gandhi was the actual power in government.
The widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose family has dominated Indian politics since independence from Britain in 1947, she remained leader of the Congress Party and sometimes made vital decisions.
Singh was known for his easy lifestyle and had a repute for honesty. He was not personally considered corrupt. But he got here under fire for failing to take tough motion against members of his government when a series of scandals erupted in his second term, sparking mass protests.
In the ultimate years of his premiership, India's growth story, which he helped shape, faltered as global economic turmoil and slow government decision-making dented investment sentiment.
In 2012, his government fell right into a minority after the Congress party's foremost ally walked out of his coalition in protest on the entry of foreign supermarkets.
Two years later, the Congress was decisively swept aside by the Bharatiya Janata Party under Narendra Modi, a strongman who promised to finish economic gridlock, eliminate corruption and produce inclusive growth to the hinterland.
But at a press conference just months before he left office, Singh insisted he had done his best.
“I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or, for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament,” he said.
Singh is survived by his wife and three daughters.
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