Former UN Chief Kofi Annan Dies At 80 - UN Migration Agency

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published August 18, 2018 | 04:23 PM

Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan passed away at the age of 80, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) said Saturday

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th August, 2018) Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan passed away at the age of 80, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) said Saturday.

"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," the IOM said on its official Twitter.

Annan was born in 1938 and served as the head of the United Nations in 1997-2006, winning 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," current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Twitter.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May expressed her regret and offered her condolences to the family of Annan.

"A great leader and reformer of the UN, he made a huge contribution to making the world he has left a better place than the one he was born into," May said on Twitter.

In 2007, Annan founded the Kofi Annan Foundation, a non-profit focused on support for democracy, fighting hunger and drug trafficking, and nurturing youth leadership.