UPDATE – Former UN chief Kofi Annan passes away at age of 80

UPDATES WITH BIOGRAPHY, STATEMENT BY UN CHIEF

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) – Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan passed away at the age of 80 on Saturday, his family announced on Twitter.

Annan's death was announced in a statement posted on his official Twitter account.

“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… ” the statement read.

Antonio Guterres, the current UN secretary general, also paid tribute to Annan. “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, ” Guterres said in a statement.

– Biography of Kofi Annan

Annan was born in Kumasi city of Ghana in 1938 and pursued education in the U.S. and Switzerland.

He served as UN secretary-general from 1996 to 2007, first black person holding that post, and received Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.

Annan leaved his position on Jan. 1, 2007 to South Korean Ban Ki-moon.

The former UN secretary-general had prepared a plan for the solution of Cyprus issue.

Known as the “Annan Plan “, it was voted in a referendum in both the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides in 2004.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus side voted “yes ” for the plan, however, the majority of the Greek Cypriot administration voted “no ” and the plan could not come into force.

He served as UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria in 2012. However, he resigned from the post after the conflict escalated in the country.

Annan was also the chair of a commission to investigate the Rohingya issue in Myanmar.

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