Ex-UN chief Kofi Annan is dead
Former UN Secretary General and Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan has died at the age of 80, the Kofi Annan Foundation has said.
The Foundation said the former UN chief passed on Saturday after a short illness.
“It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness,” the Foundation said.
The Foundation described Annan as ‘a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought for his life for a fairer and more peaceful world’.
Annan who served as the 7th Secretary General stepped down in December 2006 having been elected to the post in January 1997.
Annan founded and chaired the Kofi Annan Foundation and was also Chair of the Elders, a group founded by former South African President Nelson Mandela.