Mukherjee was president from 2012 to 2017, at the end of a long period when the Congress party held power. Before that, he had been minister of finance, defence and foreign affairs for three separate prime ministers.

In this July 25, 2012 file photo, Pranab Mukherjee, right, in a traditional horse driven carriage, waves to the media as he arrives to be sworn in as India's 13th president at the Presidential Palace, in New Delhi, India.
In this July 25, 2012 file photo, Pranab Mukherjee, right, in a traditional horse driven carriage, waves to the media as he arrives to be sworn in as India's 13th president at the Presidential Palace, in New Delhi, India. (AP)

Former Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, who had tested positive for Covid-19 this month, has died aged 84 after weeks in the hospital.

New Delhi's Army Hospital (Research And Referral) said earlier in the day that Mukherjee had gone into septic shock after coming down with a lung infection. His medical condition had declined since Sunday, it added.

"He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, posting a picture of him touching Mukherjee's feet in reverence.

"A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society." 

Varied range of roles

Mukherjee was president from 2012 to 2017, at the end of a long period when the Congress party held power. The office is largely ceremonial in India, with executive powers resting with the prime minister.

Before that, he had been minister of finance, defence and foreign affairs for three separate prime ministers and helped manage their fractious governing coalitions.

Mukherjee was a college teacher in West Bengal state before first running for public office in 1969. He became a protege of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi and was loyal to her during the Internal Emergency she had proclaimed from 1975 to 1977, when elections were suspended and civil liberties were curbed.

Gandi assasstination

Many of her opponents were imprisoned.

He lost his position as finance minister after Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 and her son Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister. Mukherjee formed his own party but later reconciled with Rajiv Gandhi and returned to the Congress party in 1989.

After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, Mukherjee joined the Cabinets of his successors, PV Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.

Mukherjee was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019.

He is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife died in 2015.

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Source: TRTWorld and agencies