Robert Orr, at 86; was a governor of Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS -- Robert D. Orr, who championed educational reform as governor of Indiana in the 1980s and later served as US ambassador to Singapore, died Wednesday at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis. He was 86.

The cause of death was believed to be heart arrhythmia, said Mark Lubbers, an aide to the former governor.

Mr. Orr, a Republican, spent 16 years in the state's top two offices, serving two terms as lieutenant governor beginning in 1973 and then serving as governor from 1981 to 1989. He was barred from a third term.

"Being governor is the best elective office you can have in this country," Mr. Orr said in 1995, six years after leaving office. "It's better than being president. When you're governor, you don't become a prisoner of the job. You can do the work and still have a life."

After leaving office in 1989, he was named US ambassador to Singapore.

As governor, Mr. Orr presided over the strengthening of the state's economy following the recession of the early 1980s. He also oversaw the removal of the state license branch system from political control and an aggressive effort to promote the export of Indiana products -- a crusade he maintained long after leaving office.

Mr. Orr's major achievement was passage of a sweeping educational reform package in 1987. The "A-Plus" package required student achievement exams, a new school accreditation system based on performance, and rewards for schools that showed improvement. Mr. Orr graduated from Yale University in 1940 and attended Harvard Business School before enlisting in the Army 1942. During World War II, Mr. Orr served in the Pacific theater and was commissioned a major.Despite his political success, Mr. Orr was known as a gentleman and for his humility. "That is what my parents taught me, that it was better to have others praise you than to do it yourself," Orr said.