Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid died

Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, known as a champion of democracy and moderate Islam, died Wednesday at the age of 69 after a long struggle with strokes, diabetes and near blindness.

Better known as Gus Dur to his constituents, the late Muslim cleric was Indonesia’s first democratically elected president. He came to power in 1999 following the fall of military strongman Suharto in 1998. VOA