“Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy. He selflessly placed others first, radiating genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did.”
FORMER United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan has died at age 80.
Mr Annan died in the early hours of Saturday in Switzerland after a short illness, according to a statement issued by his family.
The Nobel Peace Laureate was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006, and became the first black African man to take on the top job as the world’s top diplomat.
He was founder and Chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, which issued a statement on social media, saying: “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…”
“His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days,” it said.
“Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy. He selflessly placed others first, radiating genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did.”
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… pic.twitter.com/42nGOxmcPZ
— Kofi Annan (@KofiAnnan) August 18, 2018
The United Nations Migration Agency also confirmed his death in a tweet, saying: “Today we mourn the loss of a great man, a leader, and a visionary: former @UN Secretary General @KofiAnnan. A life well lived. A life worth celebrating.”
Today we mourn the loss of a great man, a leader, and a visionary: former @UN Secretary General @KofiAnnan.
A life well lived. A life worth celebrating. pic.twitter.com/z51WTB4Y65
— IOM – UN Migration (@UNmigration) August 18, 2018
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres voiced deep sorrow at the news his predecessor had passed away, calling him “a guiding force for good”.
“Kofi Annan was a guiding force for good,” Guterres said in a statement shortly after news broke of Annan’s passing in Switzerland at the age of 80.
