Monday, October 7

High Profilers

Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State
High Profilers, United States

Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State

Colin Powell, Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, the first black United States’ Secretary of State and top military officer, passed away on Monday at the age of 84 from COVID-19 complications, his family mentioned in a statement. "He was fully vaccinated. We want to thank the medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center for their caring treatment. We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," Mr. Powell's family wrote in a post on his Facebook page. A four-star Army general, he was also the chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush during the 1991 Gulf War in which U.S.-led forces expelled Iraqi troops from neighboring Kuwait. Mr. Powell, a moderate Republican and a pragmatist,...
Sangram Keshari Jena, Politician
High Profilers, India, Sad But True

Sangram Keshari Jena, Politician

Sangram Keshari Jena, a former Odisha youth Congress president and son of former party state president Jayadev Jena, succumbed to post-Covid complications at a hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday. Sangram (43), a popular youth leader, was on ventilator support in Bhubaneswar for more than three weeks after he tested positive in April. He was airlifted to Hyderabad in May for ECMO treatment. Sangram’s family members, quoting the doctors, said his condition deteriorated rapidly on Wednesday night. The doctors declared him dead in the early hours of Thursday. In 2014, Sangram had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from the Bhadrak seat on a Congress ticket.
Mike Gravel, politician
High Profilers, Profiles, United States

Mike Gravel, politician

Two-time U.S. presidential candidate and former US Senator Mike Gravel is dead. The 91-year-old  Alaska Democrat is remembered for attracting national attention by reading the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record, while also making two unsuccessful bids for president.. Gravel's daughter, Lynne Mosier described her father as a "terrific dad” while confirming his death in a message to CNN on June 27. Gravel was born on May 13, 1930, in Springfield, Massachusetts and served in the US Army as an adjutant in the Communications Intelligence Service in Germany, besides later as special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps in France from 1951 to 1954, according to a biography on his website.  Later, Gravel graduated from Columbia University in 1956 with a Bachelor of...
Oleg Burlakov, businessman
High Profilers, Profiles, Russia

Oleg Burlakov, businessman

The rampaging Covid-19 pandemic has claimed the life of a Russian billionaire recently. Oleg Burlakov -- co-owner of Stroilesbank -- died of coronavirus at age 71, close sources said. Burlakov was 177 on the Forbes list of the richest Russians and had an estimated fortune of about $ 650 million,when he passed away suddenly on June 23, according to a source known to his wife. The billionaire had passed away in Monaco – his place of residence over recent years and to which he had returned recently from Moscow, according to a source who knew the billionaire well. Burlakov, who would have turned 72 in August, was also the owner of a paint factory and an investment and construction company.
Milkha Singh, Indian sprint legend
High Profilers, India, Profiles

Milkha Singh, Indian sprint legend

Indian sprint legend Milkha Singh passed away on June 18 after a month-long battle with COVID-19. He was 91. Singh, who is survived by his golfer son Jeev Milkha Singh and three daughters, died at 11.30 p.m, a family spokesperson told media.  The Padma Shri awardee had recently lost his wife -- former national volleyball captain Nirmal Kaur (85) -- to the dreaded coronavirus, when she passed away at a private hospital in Mohali. The athlete had contracted COVID-19 in May but was tested negative on May 16 before being shifted to general ICU in a hospital. However, his condition became critical with complications, including fever and dipping oxygen saturation levels.  Milkha Singh, who was a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and 1958 Commonwealth Games champion,...
Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, politician
High Profilers, India, Profiles

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, politician

Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, an Indian politician, passed away at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on September 13, 2020, following complications arising from Coronavirus Just two days after he sent a hand-written note to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav notifying him of his decision to resign from the party after being in it for over three decades, senior party leader and former state minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh passed away from Covid-19-related complications. Singh, a lifelong fixture of the RJD, died on Sunday morning at the AIIMS. He was 74. Yadav, who had summarily rejected Singh’s resignation asking him to get well first and then talk about his future with the RJD, reacted in disbelief saying “Dear Raghuvansh ...
H Vasanthakumar, politician
High Profilers, India, Profiles

H Vasanthakumar, politician

H Vasanthakumar, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari who had tested positive for the coronavirus, died on August 28, 2020. The 70-year old leader was admitted to an Apollo Hospital in Chennai on August 10 with a coronavirus infection. He was in critical condition after contracting severe pneumonia and had been placed on ventilator support, doctors said. "Despite all active medical measures, his condition deteriorated gradually due to COVID complications and he passed away today," the hospital said. Fondly called Annachi or brother, he is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, a party spokesperson said. A first-time MP from Tamil Nadu, H Vasanthakumar had also been elected MLA twice in the past from the Nanguneri assembly constituency and was...
Nadjmi Adhani, mayor
High Profilers, Indonesia, Profiles

Nadjmi Adhani, mayor

Nadjmi Adhani, the mayor of Banjarbaru city in South Kalimantan, passed away on August 10, 2020, after being hospitalized for two weeks for COVID-19. Banjarbaru Disaster Mitigation Agency head Zaini Syahranie said Nadjmi passed away at Ulin Regional General Hospital in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan. "Pak Nadji Adhani passed away at 2:30 a.m.," Zaini said in a written statement on Monday as reported by kompas.com. Nadjmi announced through an Instagram post in late July that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19. Nadjmi was hospitalized after the announcement. However, his condition worsened on Sunday after intensive treatment. The Jakarta Post
Sunnam Rajaiah, politician
High Profilers, India, Profiles

Sunnam Rajaiah, politician

Sunnam Rajaiah -- former Bhadrachalam MLA, senior CPI (M) leader and Girijana Sangam leader -- reportedly died of COVID-19 in the wee hours on August 4, 2020. He was 68 years old. He died while being shifted from the Indian city of Hyderabad to a COVID-19 Hospital in Vijayawada. He is survived by wife and two sons and two daughters. A native of Sunnamvaari Gudem village, V.R. Puram mandal, in East Godavari district, Mr. Rajaiah served as Bhadrachalam MLA for three times. He participated in many tribal agitations, protecting tribal lands and their rights in the Agency areas in Bhadrachalam, East and West Godavari districts. The three-time MLA also participated in many agitations in CPI (M). The AP Girijana Sangam, Adivasi Sankshema Sangam and leaders of other organizations...
Kamla Rani Varun, politician
High Profilers, India, Profiles

Kamla Rani Varun, politician

Kamla Rani Varun   Kamla Rani Varun, an Indian politician, died on August 2, days after testing positive for COVID-19. She was 62 years old. Ms. Varun, who was Technical Education minister in the Yogi Adityanath Cabinet of the Indian  state of Uttar Pradesh, died during treatment at the SGPGI in Lucknow around 9.30 am. She tested positive and was receiving treatment, said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while delivering his condolence message. Ms. Varun was an MLA from Ghatampur in Kanpur and had been promoted to the State Cabinet in August 2019 when the Adityanath government went in for an expansion following the Lok Sabha victory. She was a former councillor and pracharak of the Seva Bharti, an affiliate of the RSS. She had success in the Lok Sabha elections in the past, winning from G...