Former Indian Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday, December 26, at 9:51 PM local time at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Singh, who served as India’s Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 across two consecutive terms, was 91 years old.

According to Indian media outlet NDTV, the renowned economist was rushed to the hospital around 8 PM after a sudden deterioration in his health. Despite doctors’ best efforts, he was declared dead at 9:51 PM. AIIMS later confirmed in a statement that Singh had been admitted due to age-related complications after losing consciousness at his home earlier in the evening.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that Singh was brought to AIIMS’s emergency department in critical condition. He had previously undergone successful coronary bypass surgery at the same hospital in 2009 and was hospitalized in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 but recovered.

Born on September 26, 1932, in Gah, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Singh’s family migrated to India during the Partition in 1947. Before entering politics, he served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and joined the Indian government as an economic advisor in 1971. He later held the position of Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996, introducing significant economic reforms. Singh became India’s 14th Prime Minister in 2004, leading the Congress coalition for two terms. Until earlier this year, he also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, retiring in April as one of the architects of India’s economic transformation.