General federation of Arab journalists mourns death of former UN chief

The General Federation of Arab Journalists described former UN secretary general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 93 in a Giza hospital, after sustaining a serious injury months earlier, as the dean of Egyptian and international diplomacy and a fine political figure not only in Egypt but also throughout the world. 

In a statement Wednesday, the federation said that Ghali will always be a unique figure, adding that he gave a lot through a long international political career.

A prominent diplomat with a long history of international achievements, Ghali became the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1992, making him the first African to assume that position.

He served only one term (1992-1996) at the office, after which he was not re-elected for another term due to the objection of the US to his re-election. He was then succeeded by Kofi Annan.

At the time of his appointment as UN Secretary General, Boutrous-Ghali had been Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt and had served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 until 1991.

Source: MENA