Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan passes on

The UN Migration Agency confirmed the news in a Tweet on Saturday.

“Today we mourn the loss of a great man, a leader, and a visionary: former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. A life well lived. A life worth celebrating,” the agency tweeted.

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. pic.twitter.com/3sLmy7VS2p

— IOM – UN Migration ?? (@UNmigration) August 18, 2018

The family also released a statement saying:

“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.”

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/42nGOxmcPZ

— Kofi Annan (@KofiAnnan) August 18, 2018

Annan was the first UN Secretary-General to rise from within the ranks of the United Nations staff. He served as the seventh Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006.

Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the UN in 2001. He was the chairman of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for human rights.