AustrianPresident Thomas Klestil, who brought calm to an office frayed by controversy surrounding his predecessor's past in the Nazi army, died Tuesday. He was 71.

Klestil, whose second six-year term was to end Thursday, died shortly before midnight from multiple organ failure, officials at Vienna's General Hospital told The Associated Press. He had been taken to hospital by air on Monday after suffering heart failure.

Heinz Fischer, who won elections earlier this year, takes over the presidency on Thursday. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel assumed the presidential duties when Klestil fell ill.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Christoph Zielinski said the president's liver, lungs, kidneys and central nervous system had been damaged by the cardiac problem.

When he was admitted on Monday, doctors said they could not rule out brain damage as a possible result of lack of oxygen before hospital staff got his heart functioning again.

Hospital director Reinhard Krepler said Klestil was surrounded by his family when he died.

Klestil was widely credited with restoring Austria's credibility following revelations that predecessor Kurt Waldheim served in Germany's Nazi military.

Klestil distinguished himself by speaking out numerous times against Austria's Nazi complicity during World War II, expressing sympathy for Holocaust victims during a first-term visit to Israel.

The Viennese-born Klestil studied economics and business before earning a doctorate in 1957. In 1969, he established the Austrian General Consulate in Los Angeles, where he befriended Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Austrian bodybuilder who went on to become a movie star and is now the governor of California.

In 1978, he was appointed Austria's ambassador to the United Nations (news - web sites). Four years later, he moved to Washington, where he became the Alpine nation's ambassador to the United States.

He was elected president in 1992, succeeding Waldheim, the former U.N. secretary-general who was widely despised following revelations that he had concealed details about his service in the German army during World War II.

Klestil was re-elected but was barred by the constitution from running for a third term.

He is survived by his wife, and a daughter and two sons from a previous marriage. Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.

Source: Agencies