Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Passes Away

Former Finance Minister and former Defence Minister Arun Jaitley passed away on Saturday at the age of 66.

Jaitley was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Delhi on August 9, 2019, after he complained of breathlessness.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted their condolences.

Deeply anguished by the demise of my friend and an extremely valued colleague Shri Arun Jaitley ji. He was a proficient lawyer by profession and an efficient politician by passion.

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 24, 2019

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had regained power this year, Jaitley had opted out of the new Narendra Modi cabinet citing health reasons.

Jaitley has previously held important cabinet portfolios of Finance, Defence, Corporate Affairs, Commerce and Industry and Law and Justice during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and Modi government.

He had been an important figure in the previous Modi government as the Finance Minster. Jaitley had previously undergone a kidney transplant on May 14, 2018, with Piyush Goyal filling in for him in the finance ministry at that time.