Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former UN Secretary General, Dies at 93

Former UN secretary-general, Boutros Boutros-Ghali is dead. He was the first secretary-general in the post-Cold War era and at a time when it was taking on more worldwide peacekeeping work, operations that often were criticized for doing too much or too little.

He was married to Lea, an Egyptian Jew.

He took office in 1992 at a time of increasing influence for the world body following its decisive role in the Gulf War, serving one five-year term.

“Boutros-Ghali was the first to instruct his students including myself about the necessity for Egypt’s foreign policy to move east. He always said that China is the future of global politics and Egypt should be keen on maintaining the friendship with China”, Egyptian former deputy foreign minister Ahmed al-Ghamrawi told Xinhua.

Condolences were also expressed by Oh Joon, President of the UN Economic and Social Council, who hailed Boutros-Ghali as an early backer of the concept of peace-building.

He is the only Secretary General in the history of United Nations who did not serve for two terms, and was succeded by Kofi Annan of Ghana who became the 7 secretary General of the United Nations.

At the 1996 Republican National Convention convention, Bob Dole derided Boutros-Ghali and the notion of United Nations interference in American affairs, inspiring chants of “U.S.A.!”

Boutros-Ghali was the only U.N. chief to serve just one term; the United States vetoed his renewal.

He extended his deepest condolences to Mrs. Boutros-Ghali, as well as to the rest of the family, to the Egyptian people, and to the late Secretary-General’s many friends and admirers around the world.

Born in November 14, 1922, in Cairo, Boutros-Ghali studied in the Egyptian capital and Paris and became an academic specialising in worldwide law.

Boutros-Ghali found himself jeered in Sarajevo, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. Ghali resigned in 2011, the year Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising.

Thanks to the end of the cold war, the world is reaching out more than ever to United Nations mediators, technocrats and blue-helmeted soldiers.

News of Boutros-Ghali’s death stirred a wave of reactions around the world, particularly in his native Africa and in Egypt specifically. “They can easily forget Somalia in 24 hours”.

Over four decades, Boutros-Ghali participated in numerous meetings dealing with global law, human rights, economic and social development, decolonization, the Middle East question, worldwide humanitarian law, the rights of ethnic and other minorities, non-alignment, development in the Mediterranean region and Afro-Arab cooperation.

He once consented to be interviewed by the faux reporter Ali G, played by the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who introduced Boutros-Ghali as the “geezer” who leads the United Nations.