Former UN Secretary, Boutros Boutros-Ghali Dies At 93

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, World News Tuesday, February 16th, 2016

Former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, has died.

Ghali, an Egyptian, according to agency news, died Tuesday, at a Cairo hospital, at age 93, after being admitted with a broken pelvis.

He took the mantle of Leadership as the UN Scribe in 1992 at a time of growing influence for the body’s decisive role in the Gulf War, serving one five-year term.

He however faced stiff criticism for the UN’s failure to stop the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. US, a leading member of the UN Security Council was offended by his opposition to NATO’s bombing campaign in Bosnia.

Upon the announcement of his demise, the 15-member Security Council observed a minute’s silence which was made at the start of a session on Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

The ex-UN Scribe received a phone call from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last Thursday, after being admitted to hospital, according to the Egyptian press.

Born on 14 November 1922 into a Coptic Christian family in Cairo, Boutros Ghali educated at Cairo University and in Paris, where he established a lifelong connection with France.

He studied International Relations at the Columbia University, New York and became Egypt’s Foreign Minister in 1977, under president Anwar al-Sadat.

After leaving the UN, Mr Boutros-Ghali served from 1998 to 2002 as Secretary General of La Francophonie – a grouping of French-speaking nations.

He was named in 2004, the President of Egypt’s new human rights council, a body created by the ousted Egyptian leader, Hosni Mubarak, amid US pressure on Arab nations for democratic reform.