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Alexander almost went to become the country's President before lost the crucial battle in the last minute to missile scientist A P J Abdul Kalam after a consensus eluded his name forcing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance to opt for Kalam.
Following this, there was speculation that a host of key NDA leaders, including Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and Defence Minister George Fernandes, had called on a sulking Alexander to pacify him.
Born on March 20, 1921, the octogenarian head of the state, known for his academic brilliance and communication skills, is a post-graduate degree holder in history and economics from the Travancore University. He studied for his masters degree and then a doctorate in literature at the Annamalai University before joining the IAS.
Acknowledged as an erudite speaker with a good command on a range of subjects, Dr Alexander had often returned home with a trophy after winning the first prize in elocution contests, in his youth.
After serving in some districts of the then Madras and Travancore-Cochin states, Alexander was deputed to the central government in 1955.
He has undergone training in the United Kingdom's trade board under a Nuffield Foundation fellowship and also spent some time at the Stanford Research Institute, California.
He was selected to the central administrative pool of officers and continued to work in various capacities in the central government till his superannuation from service.
Late prime minister Indira Gandhi had recalled Alexander while he was serving as assistant secretary general and executive director of the United Nations International Trade Centre in Geneva.
He served as her principal secretary and later her successor Rajiv Gandhi's during 1981-85 and played a crucial role in some of the epoch making events of the time.
A recipient of the prestigious Kanchi Paramacharya award for national eminence in public administration in 1999, Alexander has authored several research papers and books, including My years with Indira Gandhi, The perils of democracy and India in the new millennium.
In recent times, his command over the Constitution and administration came to the fore while handling government formation after the 2000 Maharashtra assembly polls, which threw up a fractured verdict.
Another test following in June this year when some MLAs withdrew support to the ruling Democratic Front government leading to a crisis, which was resolved with a vote of confidence on June 13.
He has been the longest serving governor of Maharashtra, the country's most industrially advanced state after taking over in 1993.
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