CHENNAI: Former Chief Secretary T V Venkataraman (pic) died of a cardiac arrest at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, Porur, on Friday. Venkataraman was appointed as Chief Secretary soon after the late AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa was elected as Chief Minister for the first time in 1991.He was born in November 1935 and completed his BA (Hons) at Loyola College in Chennai, before being selected for the Indian Administrative Service in 1958. He served for 36 years and retired in 1994 as Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government, functioning under three Chief Ministers - MG Ramachandran, M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa.
“He had health problems that kept him in and out of hospitals constantly,” said his son Ram Kumar. “It was his strength of mind and spirituality that kept him going. He was an ardent writer and speaker, having authored numerous books on Thirumandiram.”However, during his tenure as Chief Secretary, Venkataraman found his name embroiled in a few controversies. His house was also attacked once. He also faced a case pertaining to irregularities in import of coal.