SECRETARY-GENERAL MOURNS PASSING OF FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT GERALD FORD,

SAYS WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR LEADERSHIP DURING DIFFICULT PERIOD

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

The Secretary-General mourns the passing of former President Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, who died yesterday at the age of 93.  He extends his sincere condolences to Mrs. Betty Ford, to the family of the former President and to the Government and people of the United States.

President Ford will be remembered for the leadership, calm resolve and broad experience he brought to the presidency during a particularly difficult period.  He will also be remembered for his support for the United Nations and the 1975 Helsinki process, which reaffirmed human rights as a legitimate value in world affairs. 

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For information media • not an official record