Bhubaneswar: Satyapal Malik, former Governor of Odisha and several other Indian states, passed away on Tuesday (August 5) at the age of 79 following a prolonged illness. 

He breathed his last at 1 PM at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, where he had been undergoing treatment for kidney-related complications since May. He was moved to the ICU after his condition worsened.

Malik held gubernatorial positions in multiple states during his long political career. He held additional charge as the Governor of Odisha from March 21, 2018 to May 28, 2018 while serving as the Governor of Bihar. He succeeded S.C. Jamir in the role.

Born on July 24, 1946, in Hisawada village of Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district, Malik hailed from a Jat family. He began his political journey as the president of the students' union in 1968–69. He represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1986 and again from 1986 to 1989. He later served as a Member of Parliament in the 9th Lok Sabha from Aligarh (1989–1991) as a Janata Dal candidate.

In August 2018, Malik was appointed as the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He served as the 10th and last Governor of the erstwhile state before its bifurcation into two Union Territories in 2019. Subsequently, he was appointed as the Governor of Goa and later Meghalaya, where he served until October 2022.