Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan talks to reporters as Myanmar government-appointed Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, during his press conference, at a hotel in Yangon, Myanmar December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
ACCRA/GENEVA, August 18 (Reuters) - Former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan has died at the age of 80, his foundation said on Saturday.
Annan, a Ghanaian national, died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland, in the early hours of Saturday, two of his close associates said.
In Geneva, the Kofi Annan Foundation announced his peaceful death with "immense sadness" after a short illness, saying he was surrounded in his last days by his second wife Nane and children Ama, Kojo and Nina.
Annan served two terms as U.N. Secretary-General in New York from 1997-2006 and retired in Geneva and later lived in a Swiss village in the nearby countryside.
"In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whom Annan had chosen to head the U.N. refugee agency, said in a statement.
As head of U.N. peacekeeping operations, Annan was criticised for the world body's failure to halt the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s.
"The U.N. can be improved, it is not perfect but if it didn't exist you would have to create it," he told the BBC's Hard Talk during an interview for his 80th birthday last April, recorded at the Geneva Graduate Institute where he had studied
"I am a stubborn optimist, I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist," Annan added.
Factbox: Tributes laud Annan as man of peace and champion of rights
ACCRA/GENEVA (Reuters) - Tributes have been paid from across the world to former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan, who died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland, in the early hours of Saturday aged 80.
U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES:
"In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination."
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GHANAIAN PRESIDENT NANA AKUFO-ADDO:
"Consummate international diplomat and highly respected former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan was the first from sub-Saharan Africa to occupy this exalted position. He brought considerable renown to our country by this position and through his conduct and comportment in the global arena."
"He was an ardent believer in the capacity of the Ghanaian to chart his or her own course onto the path of progress and prosperity."
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FORMER GHANAIAN PRESIDENT JOHN MAHAMA:
"He lived and worked for global peace, security and sustainable development in very challenging times. A proud son of Ghana and Africa."
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THE ELDERS (group of global leaders):
"He played a vital role in leading The Elders' work, and was a voice of great authority and wisdom in public and private.
"He was a constant advocate for human rights, development and the rule of law.
"Kofi Annan had a life-long commitment to the cause of peace and was known for his staunch opposition to military aggression, notably the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003."
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BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY:
"A great leader and reformer of the UN, he made a huge contribution to making the world he has left a better place than the one he was born into."
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FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON:
"France pays tribute to him. We will never forget his calm and resolute approach to matters, nor the strength of his commitments."
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RAILA ODINGA, KENYAN OPPOSITION LEADER AND FORMER PRIME MINISTER:
"A great African, a great leader of the world. We here in Kenya remember him for the role that he played in presiding over the process of reconciliation following the crisis that followed the 2007 general elections. Kofi Annan was able to bring the different factions in our country together."
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SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA:
Annan was "a great leader and diplomat extraordinaire" who had advanced the African agenda within the United Nations and had "flown the flag for peace" around the world.
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UAE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS ANWAR GARGASH:
"Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan departed this world after an impressive political career, a diplomat who distinguished himself with his performance in a demanding job under difficult circumstances."
