Chennai, Aug 10 (IANS) P.C. Alexander, who served as principal secretary to prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, died at a hospital here Wednesday morning, family sources said. He was 90.


Alexander was undergoing treatment at the Madras Medical Mission Hospital for heart ailments. The end came at 8.30 a.m., a police officer said.

His body will be taken to his Chennai residence before being flown to Kochi in Kerala Friday. The funeral will be held Saturday at his home parish at Mavelikera town in Alappuzha district.

Alexander was the powerful principal secretary to Indira Gandhi and later to Rajiv Gandhi when they were prime ministers from 1981 to 1985.

A former civil servant, he was invited by Indira Gandhi to become her principal secretary when he was serving at the United Nations.

He became the governor of Tamil Nadu in 1988, holding the post till 1990. He served as the Maharashtra governor in 1993-2002.

He quit the post in disgust after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) first proposed his name for presidency but then opted for A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Alexander was also a former member of the Rajya Sabha.