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Kofi Annan, who served as the Secretary-General for the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, has died. He was 80.
In a statement released on Saturday from the Nobel Peace Laureate’s family and the Kofi Annan Foundation, it was confirmed that he “passed away peacefullyon Saturday 18th August after a short illness.”
“The family kindly requests privacy at this time of mourning. Arrangements to celebrate his remarkable life will be announced later,” the statement concluded.
The BBC reported that Annan, who had been living near Geneva in the years before his death,died at a Switzerlandhospital.
Angelina Jolie, who has served as a Special Envoy for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) since 2012, alsoreleased a statementfollowing Annan’s death.
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Annan, who was born in Ghana, has the distinction of being thefirst black African to hold the honored UN position, according to CNN.
While he was awarded a joint Nobel Peace Prize with the UN in 2001 for “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world,” he has alsofaced criticismover his leadership during the 1990s, during the genocide in Rwanda, reported the BBC.
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In a statement from The Elders, Deputy Chair Gro Harlem Brundtland wrote, “The world has lost an inspiring figure– but one whose achievements will never be forgotten, and whose commitment to peace and justice will endure to inspire future generations.”
During one of his last interviews in April, Annan also shared with BBC’sHARDtalkthat despite all the difficult situations he’d faced throughout his career, “I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist.“
source: people.com
