Former external affairs minister and career diplomat K. Natwar Singh died on Saturday after a fortnight-long hospitalisation in Gurgaon. He was 93.

Widely read, erudite and known for his repartees, Singh’s stint as foreign minister in the first UPA government was short-lived despite his long association with diplomacy after the Volker Committee — set up by the United Nations secretary-general to look into corruption in the oil-for-food programme in Iraq — named him and the Congress as non-contractual beneficiaries.

He was made to step down in December 2005, a year and a half into his stint as external affairs minister and three years later left the Congress — a party he had joined after resigning from the Indian Foreign Service in 1984.

His aristocratic demeanour notwithstanding, Singh joined the rough and tumble of electoral politics and was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Bharatpur — his native place — in Rajasthan.

When in the Congress, he was known to be close to the Gandhi family but relations soured over the Volker report as he felt let down by then party president Sonia Gandhi for not defending him. And, relations worsened after he published his autobiography, One Life is Not Enough, in 2014.

No one from the Gandhi family had posted any condolence message on his passing till Sunday evening. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge issued a condolence message on behalf of the party on X: “Our deepest condolences on the passing away of Former Union Minister, Shri K. Natwar Singh ji. An acclaimed intellectual and a Padma Bhushan recipient, he made a profound contribution to India’s diplomacy and external affairs. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and followers.”

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh offered a glowing tribute that summed up the man. “A hugely engaging political personality. A distinguished foreign service officer. A cultured man of letters and noted author with a few classics to his credit. A walking encyclopedia of the worlds of Nehru and Indira Gandhi. A delightful conversationalist, storyteller and ready wit. A man whose correspondence with varied men and women are the stuff of history. A wonderful and generous friend with his hospitality and his ever-sharp memory and his deep archive. Natwar Singh was all this and much more. He has just passed away after leading a full and richly variegated life. He was truly someone who has left behind his ‘footprints on the sands of time’.”

In his condolence message, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: “Pained by the passing away of Shri Natwar Singh Ji. He made rich contributions to the world of diplomacy and foreign policy. He was also known for his intellect as well as prolific writing. My thoughts are with his family and admirers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti.”

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar — whose trajectory in public life is similar to that of Singh’s in as much as both moved from being career diplomats to politics — said: “His many contributions include a vital role in the July 2005 India-US nuclear deal. His writings, especially on China, provided valuable insights into our diplomacy.”