THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nestor Kirchner, the former president of Argentina and husband of the country's current leader, has died of a heart attack at the age of 60.
He and his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the Argentinian president, had been relaxing with family in El Calafate, Santa Cruz province, in the south of the country, when he was taken to hospital. He died at around 9.30am with his wife by his side.
Mr Kirchner served as president from 2003 to 2007 and was credited with helping the country recover from the financial crisis of 2001.
Rather than run for a second term he stood aside to allow his wife to become the candidate of the Peronist party and she was elected as his successor with her husband becoming a key economic adviser. He was a member of Argentina's congress and was secretary-general of the Union of South American Nations at the time of his death.
The couple were compared by some to Bill and Hillary Clinton for both their vast influence on national politics and their reputation among critics as left-leaning politicians who loved the high life. >>> Robin Yapp in Sao Paulo | Wednesday, October 27, 2010
