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Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, dies at 80

Annan, who was born in Ghana in 1938, served as the seventh UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006, and was the first to rise from within the ranks of the United Nations staff/AFP FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 18- Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is dead.

Annan, who is also a Nobel Peace Prize winner died at the age of 80 after a short illness in Switzeland.

He was born in Ghana in 1938.

Annan served as the seventh UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006.

In a statement, the Kofi Annan Foundation hailed him as a global statesman, who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world.

“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…,” reads a section of the statement.

“During his distinguished career and leadership of the United Nations, he was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights and the rule of law.”

Other than being the founder of the Kofi Annan Foundation, he was a member of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for human rights, since it was founded in 2007.

The Elders was founded by the late global icon Nelson Mandela.

He has been the group’s chairperson since 2013.

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According to the statement: “His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.”

In Kenya, he will be remembered for his role in brokering peace between former President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga, after the 2007-2008 post-election violence that left to more than 1,000 deaths and left more than 600,000 others displaced.

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