Dr Thomas Klestil, the man who restored the Austrian presidency's image after a Nazi controversy, died late last night aged 71.
Doctors had said earlier yesterday that Dr Kleistil had little chance of survival after his heart twice stopped beating on Monday, triggering multiple organ failure.
Dr Christoph Zielinski, the doctor leading the team treating Klestil at Vienna General Hospital, said Dr Klestil's family was at his bedside when he died but declined to give any further details.
The late president was due to step down on Thursday after two six-year terms and hand over his largely ceremonial post to Social Democrat Mr Heinz Fischer.
Dr Klestil won the respect, if not the affection, of Austrians for repairing much of the damage to the country's international image caused by revelations about former president and UN Secretary-General Dr Kurt Waldheim's role in the German army under Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
He was given much of the credit for normalising Austria's relations with the rest of the world after Dr Waldheim was ostracized by Western leaders and refused admission to the United States.
But the career diplomat also caused controversy among many traditionalists in the Roman Catholic country when he began a relationship with a young aide, ms Margot Loeffler, prompting his wife of 37 years to walk out on him in 1994.
Dr Klestil married Ms Loeffler in 1998, shortly after being re-elected to a second term.
A conservative like Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, Dr Kleistil was a critic of Mr Schuessel's decision to forge a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party of Mr Joerg Haider in 2000 - a decision which resulted in eight months of international diplomatic sanctions against Austria.
