 ISRO chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar called his former colleague "a great personality and a gentleman", while former chairman G. Madhavan Nair described Kalam as "a global leader" for whom "the downtrodden and poor people were his priority.He always had a passion to convey what is in his mind to the young generation", adding that his death left a vacuum which none could fill.South Asian leaders expressed condolences and lauded the late statesman.