ANNA LINDH REMEMBERED AS ‘UNIQUE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION,
GREAT FRIEND OF UN’, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL
Following is the message by Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the memorial ceremony for Anna Lindh, former Foreign Minister of Sweden, in Stockholm today, 19 September, delivered by Hans Corell, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs:
You have gathered today to honour one of Sweden’s greatest and most beloved daughters.� For the United Nations, Anna Lindh was in many ways also a family member.� The senseless and incomprehensible act that took her life a week ago was met with an outpouring of grief and disbelief in the whole international community.� Today, the entire United Nations family stands with you -- with Anna’s husband, children, friends and loved ones, and with all the people and Government of Sweden.
We will always remember Anna as a unique source of inspiration.� Anna was a great Swede, a great European, and a great friend of the United Nations.� Not only was she instrumental in defining and developing Sweden’s role in Europe and in the United Nations; she also worked to strengthen the relationship between the United Nations and the European Union.� I wish there were more world citizens like her.
Anna was a dear friend to me personally.� An exceptional human being, Anna was able to reach out to every generation, across every national border, across every cultural boundary.� Her profound commitment to peace, justice, development and human rights embodied the very principles for which the United Nations stands.
Since her death, a sky of lead hangs over Sweden and the international community -- but Anna leaves a legacy of light which sets a standard for us all.
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