SECRETARY-GENERAL EXPRESSES SADNESS AT DEATH OF US STATESMAN, HAROLD STASSEN

Following is the text of a statement issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

It was with great sadness that the Secretary-General learned of the death of Harold Stassen, the American statesman and the last surviving member of the United States delegation to the San Francisco conference in 1945 at which the United Nations was founded.  Mr. Stassen played a key role not only in drafting the Charter, but in ensuring the support of the Republican Party when the Charter was ratified by the United States Senate.  Well into his later years, Mr. Stassen continued to work for world peace and to speak out on behalf of a strong and effective United Nations.  The international community has lost one of its most dedicated servants, and the Secretary-General extends condolences to Mr. Stassen's family, friends and all others touched by this loss.

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