Swami Gautamananda, the senior-most vice- president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, was made the interim president of the order on Friday, members of the order said.
The Math and the Mission did not issue a formal release on the decision.
The board of trustees of the Math and the governing body of the Mission unanimously chose Swami Gautamananda as the interim president.
The 16th president of the order, Swami Smaranananda, passed away on Tuesday night. He was 94.
Swami Gautamananda, who is the adhyaksha of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai, was appointed a trustee of the order in 1990. Five years later, he took charge as the head of the Ramakrishna Math in Chennai.
Swami Gautamananda is a few months’ older than the departed president, a senior monk said.
“A final decision on the next president will be taken at a meeting of the board of trustees and the governing body on April 24,” he said.