Geneva, August 18: Former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan has died at age 80 on Saturday. He was born in Ghana in 1938 and served as the seventh UN Secretary-General from 1997-2006. The former UN-Secretary was also founder and Chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation.

The UN Migration Agency tweeted: "Today we mourn the loss of a great man, a leader, and a visionary."

The former UN diplomat was the first black African to lead the United Nations. In 2013, he became the chairman of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for human rights. The organisation was founded in 2007.

The official twitter handle of Kofi Annan managed by Kofi Annan Foundation tweeted about his demise

He became the head of the United Peacekeeping Mission in 1993. However, in 2003, The US, the biggest supporter of Annan invaded Iraq bypassing the UN. It created a rift between the former UN diplomat and the US. In 2006 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 18, 2018 03:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).