Nestor Kirchner, the 54th President of Argentina and the husband of current president Christina Fernandez, has died. Kirchner died Wednesday morning of a heart attack at a hospital near his home in El Calafate. Fernandez was by his side, state media reports. Kirchner was 60.
Kirchner had a history of health problems. He was hospitalized in January 2006 for gastric problems. In February of this year he underwent surgery to unblock his right carotid artery. Then in September Kirchner underwent angioplasty surgery to clear blockage near his heart.
Kirchner served as president from 2003 to 2007. He was expected to run for president in 2011 when Fernandez’s term ended.
Condolences to the politician’s family began pouring in after the news broke.
"Oh, my dear Cristina. How much pain! What a great loss for Argentina and our America to suffer! Long live Kirchner forever!!" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wrote on Twitter.
“This is a great loss for Argentina and a great loss for our continent,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in a statement.
"On behalf of the American people, I express my sincere condolence to the people in Argentina and to the President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for her husband's death," United States President Barack Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.
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