SG/SM/7352

SECRETARY-GENERAL EXTENDS HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES ON DEATH OF ‘FATHER OF TUNISIA’ HABIB BOURGUIBA

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary- General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General has learned with great sadness of the passing away of Habib Bourguiba, the founder and first President of the Republic of Tunisia. The Secretary-General wishes to pay homage to his memory as a great statesman and a man of peace.

Known to all as the Father of Tunisia, and one of the architects of the Organization of African Unity, President Bourguiba personified the hopes and aspirations of generations of men and women, both in Tunisia and in Africa.

Today, as we grieve at the death of President Bourguiba, the Secretary-General wishes to extend to all Tunisians, and above all, to the bereaved family, his heartfelt condolences.

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United Nations