OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General pay tribute to former UN Chief Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Berlin/Vienna, 16 February 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier today expressed deep sadness as news of former United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali passing was announced.

"With Boutros Boutros-Ghali we have lost a diplomat and politician of global renown who, like few others, shaped the United Nations during his tenure as Secretary-General and prepared the UN for new tasks and challenges”, said Steinmeier.  The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office stressed that the Egyptian diplomat’s name “will forever remain associated with the Agenda for Peace. With this, he left a substantial mark for considerations on a new international order after the end of the Cold War.”

But Boutros-Ghali’s legacy is not limited to theory, said Steinmeier. “He fought for the realization of his ideas: by creating the Department of Political Affairs within the New York UN Secretariat, Boutros Boutros-Ghali formed a new institutional basis for the UN's work for peace and security. Since then, mediation and conflict prevention are an undisputed part of the UN toolbox".

Secretary General Zannier joined Minister Steinmeier in extending his condolences to the family and friends of the late UN Secretary-General, as well as to the Egyptian people.  

“The international community grieves a leader who was committed to world peace and security. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was a firm supporter of the then CSCE, who recognized the important role of regional organizations in advancing regional stability.  By consistently promoting co-operation between the UN Secretariat and the CSCE, he laid the foundation for a solid UN-OSCE relationship”, said Zannier.

Egypt is one of the 11 Partners for Co-operation of the OSCE