According to the Kofi Annan Foundation he passed away peacefully after a short illness. His wife and children were by his side. According to the Reuters news agency, the 80-year-old was admitted to a hospital in the Swiss capital of Bern where he died.
The international diplomat had strong ties to Switzerland, in particular Geneva. He called Geneva his second home. Annan studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies from 1961-62 and where he began his UN career at the World Health Organization. It was also where he met his wife, Nane, a Swedish lawyer.
The Ghanian national lived in Geneva from 2006 after the end of his second term as the UN chief. A year later he established the Kofi Annan Foundation in the Swiss city.
Swiss reaction
Swiss president Alain Berset expressed his condolences to Annan’s family via Twitter and called him a visionary and a great friend of Switzerland.
“Today, International Geneva has lost one of its most ardent advocates,” he added.
Pierre Maudet, president of the Geneva cantonal government, said he was “sad” to learn about Annan’s death whom he considered “a great friend of Geneva and Switzerland”. He expressed a wish for Geneva to pay homage to Annan but said it was necessary to discuss the subject with the family first.
The director-general of the UN European headquarters in Geneva, Michael Møller, said he was shocked by how rapidly Annan’s condition deteriorated. He termed Annan’s death an “enormous loss for the world”.
More
More
Remembering Kofi Annan in Switzerland
This content was published on
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who died in Bern on Saturday, had strong ties to Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Kofi Annan bids farewell to Geneva
This content was published on
“This city and Switzerland have become my second home,” he told 500 guests on Monday evening, among them Swiss President Moritz Leuenberger. Annan expressed a “deep attachment” to Geneva, where he studied at the Graduate Institute of International Studies from 1961-62 and where he began his UN career at the World Health Organization. He said…
This content was published on
Annan will be seen enthusing about the Swiss mountains in a documentary to be screened on British television. The 52-minute “Mountain Spirit”, which will premiere in Cannes in the spring, is one of a number of projects undertaken by Switzerland Tourism during the Year of the Mountain. “It would have been unforgivable to miss such…
This content was published on
Reacting to newspaper reports on Sunday, a spokesman said the ministry was working in this direction with different partners, with Annan expected to play a leading role. Johann Aeschlimann told the AP news agency that the project was in its first phase of development and that it was still too early to say what form…
This content was published on
Until September 10, 2002, what did Switzerland have in common with the Vatican and East Timor?
They were not members of the UN.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.