Sellapan Ramanathan

Sellapan Ramanathan (2006)

Sellapan Ramanathan , often SR Nathan (born July 3, 1924 in Singapore ; † August 22, 2016 ibid), was the sixth President of Singapore from September 1, 1999 to August 31, 2011 .

Life

Nathan was of Tamil descent and a Hindu . When his mother returned from a pilgrimage in Rameswaram , India , she gave birth to the boy. He spent his childhood with his three older sisters in Johor, Malaysia .

His father was employed by a law firm that ran rubber tree plantations. In the 1930s the price of rubber fell and the family went into debt. Young Nathan went back to Singapore and lived with his uncle. During World War II , Nathan worked as a translator for the Japanese army . After the war, he studied at Malaya University (later Singapore National University ) in Singapore and graduated in 1954.

In February 1966 Sellapan Ramanathan went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked first as an assistant, later as a deputy minister, before he headed the Ministry of the Interior from January 1971 . Nathan moved to the Ministry of Defense ( MINDEF) in August of the same year and took over the management of the SID secret service .

During the attack by the Japanese Red Army on January 31, 1974 on Shell oil tanks on the island of Pulau Bukom, he was one of a group of members of the government who voluntarily allowed themselves to be taken hostage in order to secure the release of the five civilian prisoners.

From 1983 to April 1988, Nathan was Chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board and also a founding member of the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA). He served as Ambassador for Singapore in the USA from July 1990 to 1996. After his return, he worked for various institutes. As the only suitable candidate for the office of president, he was proclaimed head of state in 1999 to succeed Ong Teng Cheong . In the 2005 presidential election, Nathan was the only eligible candidate for the Presidential Elections Committee , which rejected the other three. As a result, there was no election and Nathan was proclaimed president.

In the 2011 election, Nathan did not run again. He was succeeded by Tony Tan Keng Yam .

In 2009 he received an honorary doctorate from Keiō University .

Web links

Commons : SR Nathan - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Zuraidah Ibrahim, Lydia Lim: He ran away from home when he was 16. Straits Times; published by the Singapore Ministry of Education on August 22, 1999, archived from the original on July 17, 2007 .; accessed on August 22, 2016
Mr SR Nathan. The Istana , August 28, 2017(English).; accessed on August 5, 2018

Individual evidence

^ Bonny Tan: SR Nathan. National Library Singapore, January 14, 2000, archived from the original on May 1, 2008 ; accessed on August 22, 2016 (English).
↑ Singapore's 6th president SR Nathan dies, age 92 . Today , August 22, 2016 (English).
↑ Conferment of Honorary Degree of Doctor 2000–2009. Keiō University , archived from the original on September 12, 2014 ; accessed on August 22, 2016 (English).

personal data
SURNAME	Ramanathan, Sellapan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Nathan, SR
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Singaporean politician, head of state of Singapore
DATE OF BIRTH	July 3, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH	Singapore
DATE OF DEATH	22nd August 2016
Place of death	Singapore

[1] Bonny Tan: SR Nathan. National Library Singapore, January 14, 2000, archived from the original on May 1, 2008 ; accessed on August 22, 2016 (English).

[2] Singapore's 6th president SR Nathan dies, age 92 . Today , August 22, 2016 (English).

[3] Conferment of Honorary Degree of Doctor 2000–2009. Keiō University , archived from the original on September 12, 2014 ; accessed on August 22, 2016 (English).