SECRETARY-GENERAL SADDENED AT DEATH OF FORMER SWEDISH AMBASSADOR GUNNAR JARRING

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

The Secretary-General was saddened to learn of the death of Gunnar Jarring, the Swedish diplomat and veteran of United Nations affairs.  Mr. Jarring’s career on the international stage spanned almost half a century.  He served as Sweden's Ambassador to the United Nations during the 1950s, and as Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Middle East from 1967 to 1990.  Mr. Jarring was known for his unflinching honesty, integrity, and discretion, as well as his exceptional powers of analysis and persuasion.  The Secretary-General expresses his condolences to Mr. Jarring’s family, as well as to the Government of Sweden, and adds that Mr. Jarring’s legacy will live on as a shining example of the best and most selfless kind of international service.

* *** *