Former Indian finance minister Jaitley dies at 66

Arun Jaitley, the former finance minister and one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s closest associates, died in hospital yesterday, nearly two weeks after he was admitted following breathing difficulties, officials said. Jaitley, 66, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stepped down as finance minister in January due to ill health, just months before elections that returned Modi to power.

“With the demise of Arun Jaitley Ji, I have lost a valued friend, whom I have had the honor of knowing for decades,” Modi said on Twitter. “His insight on issues and nuanced understanding of matters had very few parallels.” Jaitley was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Aug. 9. A diabetic, his health had worsened after he underwent a kidney transplant in May last year. He also had to skip the presentation of the interim budget in February when he was in hospital in the United States for cancer treatment. The lawyer-turned-politician also had triple heart bypass surgery when he was 52.

Jaitley’s urbane and articulate manner helped him win friends across party lines and industry. The BJP lost another veteran party leader and former minister of external affairs when Sushma Swaraj died after a cardiac arrest earlier this month.