Former Maldivian President Ibrahim Nasir died last evening at a hospital in Singapore, his grand-son Ibrahim Nasir has confirmed, according to Maldivian media reports.
The 82-year old, who has been in exile in Singapore since his office ended in 1978, passed away after being critically ill in the intensive care unit of Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
He has previously suffered from kidney problems and the prospects of a recovery have been slim for some time.
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| Former Maldivian President Ibrahim Nasir |
Ruler of the Maldives from 1968 to 1978, Nasir is credited with bringing about Maldivian independence.
The country had previously been a British protectorate.
Some hail him as a national hero due to his involvement in deals which saw Maldives gain full independence in 1965.
He is also credited with introducing the current school curriculum, modernising the fisheries industry and initiating tourism in Maldives, now Maldives' biggest earner.
But he has also been criticised for human rights abuses and the use of authoritarian methods against opponents, such as a crackdown on a 1959 breakaway republic in the south of the country. As prime minister in 1962, Nasir sent a militia from the capital, Malé, to suppress islanders of Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo after they declared a breakaway state in the southern atolls.
In 1981, he was sentenced by President Gayoom in absentia for alleged corruption and planning a coup, but he was later pardoned.
Nasir has been in retirement in Singapore since ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom took power 30 years ago.
Nasir, a descendant of one of the Maldivian royal families, served as Prime Minister under Sultan Muhammad Fareed Didi from 1957 to 1968.
He then became first president of the second Maldivian republic in 1968 and held office until declining to accept nomination by the parliament for another term in November 1978.
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