GENEVA – Former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate Kofi Annan passed away at the age of 80 on Saturday, the Geneva-based Kofi Annan Foundation announced.
“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 in a statement issued Saturday.
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/NDOy2NmAAs
— Kofi Annan Foundation (@KofiAnnanFdn) August 18, 2018
A diplomat source said that Annan died in a Swiss hospital, and his wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.
Born on April 9 of 1938 in Ghana, Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. He and the U.N. were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
Kofi Annan was a guiding force for good. I join the world in mourning his loss. In these turbulent and trying times, his legacy as a global champion for peace will remain a true inspiration for us all. https://t.co/psJ9viPIeu pic.twitter.com/SKfBk5zaY2
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 18, 2018
He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.
