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Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who liberalized the economy and subsequently led the country through a period of strong economic growth, has died.
Announcing the news of Singh’s death on Thursday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi said the 92-year-old was undergoing treatment for age-related illnesses.
As finance minister from 1991 to 1996, the Oxford-educated economist led India’s opening to greater foreign trade and private investment, putting it on the path to becoming a fast-growing economy.
After the Congress Party won the parliamentary election in 2004, Singh was unexpectedly elected as Prime Minister.
In addition to nearly 7% growth, Singh’s decade as prime minister was marred by accusations of widespread corruption among party leaders, although his personal integrity was rarely questioned.
Singh was accused of inaction, with opposition parties claiming he caved in to then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“History will be kinder to me than the contemporary media or the opposition,” Singh said in a speech in parliament in 2014, shortly before Congress lost to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
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