CAIRO, August 18, 2018 – President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Saturday sent a message of condolences to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres following the death of the former head of the world body Kofi Annan. Egypt expresses profound condolences over the death of Annan, whose memory and accomplishments at the world body will never be forgotten, according to President Sisi's message, which was directed also to the international community and the African Continent. Annan, one of the world's most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first African secretary-general, died earlier in the day. He was 80. The Foreign Ministry also mourned the death of the late head of UN, saying: "Annan's memory, achievements, and efforts for world peace and development will be always remembered, Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ahmed Abu Zeid, said in a statement on Saturday. Late Annan will remain as a symbol of which every African and peace-loving person be proud, the statement said. Annan spent virtually his entire career as an administrator in the United Nations. His aristocratic style, cool-tempered elegance and political savvy helped guide his ascent to become its seventh secretary-general, and the first hired from within. He served two terms from Jan. 1, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2006, capped nearly mid-way when he and the UN were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. During his tenure, Annan presided over some of the worst failures and scandals at the world body, one of its most turbulent periods since its founding in 1945. Challenges from the outset forced him to spend much of his time struggling to restore its tarnished reputation. His enduring moral prestige remained largely undented, however, both through charisma and by virtue of having negotiated with most of the powers in the world. When he departed from the United Nations, he left behind a global organisation far more aggressively engaged in peacekeeping and fighting poverty, setting the framework for the UN's 21st-century response to mass atrocities and its emphasis on human rights and development. "Kofi Annan was a guiding force for good," current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "It is with profound sadness that I learned of his passing. In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organisation into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination."
