NEW DELHI — Former President Pranab Mukherjee, a senior leader of India’s Congress party who served in multiple Cabinets during five decades in politics, has died. Mukherjee was president from 2012 to 2017, at the end of a long period when the Congress party held power. The office is largely ceremonial in India, with executive powers resting with the prime minister. He lost his position as finance minister after Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 and her son Rajiv Gandhi became prime minister. Mukherjee formed his own party but later reconciled with Rajiv Gandhi and returned to the Congress party in 1989.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer August 31, 2020 13:41 UTC