Bengaluru: Former Chief Secretary and ex-Minister J. Alexander passed away in Bengaluru on Friday following brief illness. He was 83 and leaves behind two children and a host of relatives and friends.

Alexander, a native of Kerala and a Karnataka cadre IAS officer, retired as Karnataka Chief Secretary and subsequently entered politics by joining Congress party. He was elected on a Congress ticket from the then Bharathinagar Assembly segment in Bengaluru city in 1999 and served as Tourism  Minister in the S.M. Krishna Cabinet.

His last rites were performed at Bengaluru on Saturday.