A mild-mannered technocrat, Manmohan Singh became one of India's longest-serving prime ministers. He was chosen to fill the role by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The former prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, has died at the age of 92. He was the country's first Sikh prime minister and credited with launching economic reforms that led to India's emergence as a global leader.

By Devjyot Ghoshal and Matthias Williams NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Described as a "reluctant king" in his first stint as prime minister, the soft-spoken Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday at the age of 92,