BRASILIA — Brazil's first civilian president after military rule, Jose Sarney, 96, was discharged from hospital Wednesday after a short stay with pneumonia. Sarney, who was admitted to hospital on Sunday with the respiratory infection, will continue receiving home-care, the UDI Hospital in the northern city of Sao Luis said in a statement. A lawyer, politician, and writer, Sarney became president in tragic circumstances and served from 1985 to 1990. He was supposed to be vice president under Tancredo Neves, who won indirect elections called in January 1985 by the military regime. But Neves was hospitalized on the eve of his scheduled inauguration with intestinal inflammation. He died 38 days later after multiple surgeries and a bacterial blood infection. During his tenure, Sarney oversaw the drafting and approval of a new constitution in 1988, which paved the way for direct presidential elections the following year -- the first in almost 30 years. Brazil also experienced soaring inflation, which his government failed to curb, leading to hyperinflation at the end of his presidency. After leaving office, Sarney served several terms as a senator, including as president of the Senate. He retired from politics in 2015.