Former Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander passes away

Chennai, August 10, 2011

Former Tamil Nadu and Mahashtra Governor P C Alexander died at a private hospital here this morning after a prolonged illness.

He was 90. He is survived by his wife Ackamma Alexander, two sons and two daughters.

He was at the hospital for a brief period earlier at the critical care unit and was discharged about two weeks ago. Though he had not completely recovered, he was recouping at his home in Chennai before he was admitted back to the hospital two days ago.

His wife and all the four children were at his bedside when he breathed his last at 0830 hrs.

As per his wish, Dr Alexander's body would be taken to Kochi on Friday for burial at his native parish Saint Mary's Orthodox Church, Puthiakavu at Mavelikkara on Saturday. Official sources said Dr Alexander, who had also served as Principal Secretary to Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, was undergoing treatment at the Madras Medical Mission Hospital for cardiac-related problems for the last two months.

The end came at 0830 hrs this morning. His body was taken to his residence at Kottupuram area in the city. It was expected to be taken to his home in Kerala for the last rites.

Mr Alexander, a retired bureaucrat, had served as Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and earlier as Governor of Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002.

Born in Kerala on March 20, 1921, Dr Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander's name had figured as a possible candidate for the post of President in 2007.

He had served as a member of the Rajya Sabha, representing Maharashtra as an independent candidate, from July 29, 2002 to April 2, 2008.

His career included extended stints with the United Nations and in the Union Ministry of Commerce.

He also served as the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

As Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and later to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during 1981-1985, Mr Alexander had played a crucial role in the developments of that period.

Dr Alexander obtained his post-graduate degree in History and Economics from the Travancore University and M.Litt and D.Litt. degrees by research from the Annamalai University before joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1948.

Dr Alexander won acclaim and admiration for being a gifted and erudite speaker. He was the recipient of the prestigious Kanchi Paramacharya Award for National Eminence in Public Administration in 1999.

Dr Alexander had served as a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan world wide for over a decade and was elected as its Vice-President and Trustee a year ago.

He has also served as Chairman of the Nehru Trust for Cambridge University.

Dr Alexander had authored several books, articles and research papers. His books included "My Years with Indira Gandhi", "The Perils of Democracy" and "India in the New Millennium".

NNN