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1st LD Writethru: Ban calls former UN chief Boutros-Ghali "a respected statesman"

Xinhua, February 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday hailed former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali as "a respected statesman" and expressed sadness at his predecessor's death.

"The late Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, was a respected statesman in the service of his country, Egypt," Ban said.

An Egyptian politician and diplomat, Boutros-Ghali served as the sixth UN head from 1992 to 1996. He died at 93 in Egypt.

Boutros-Ghali was a well-known scholar of international law and brought formidable experience and intellectual power to the task of piloting the United Nations through one of the most tumultuous and challenging periods in its history, Ban said.

As Secretary-General, Boutros-Ghali presided over a dramatic rise in UN peacekeeping. He also presided over a time when the world increasingly turned to the United Nations for solutions to its problems, in the immediate aftermath of the cold war, Ban said.

"Boutros Boutros-Ghali did much to shape the Organization's response to this new era, in particular through his landmark report 'An Agenda for Peace' and the subsequent agendas for development and democratization," he said.

While praising Boutros-Ghali's for rightly insisting on "the independence of his office and of the Secretariat as a whole," Ban stressed that "his commitment to the United Nations -- its mission and its staff -- was unmistakable, and the mark he has left on the Organization is indelible."

Ban extended his deepest condolences to Mrs. Boutros-Ghali, as well as to the rest of the family, to the Egyptian people, and to the late Secretary-General's many friends and admirers around the world.

The United Nations community will mourn a memorable leader who rendered invaluable services to world peace and international order, Ban said.

The Security Council observed a minute's silence Tuesday morning after Venezuela's UN permanent representative, Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno, current holder of the council's rotating presidency, made the announcement. Enditem