The first member of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee (2014~2016) and former U.N. Secretary-General, H.E. Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali (would turn 94 this year), passed away this past February 16, 2016 (Tuesday) due to illness. The members of the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee and Secretariat, offer their sincere sympathy and condolence to the bereaved families.
With his achievements and years of experience, Dr. Ghali, has guided the Sunhak Peace Prize from the time its Committee was inaugurated in August of 2014, throughout the course of selecting Indian fisheries scientist, Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta, and President of Kiribati, H.E. Anote Tong as its inaugural laureates.
Dr. Ghali, who became the United Nations’ first African-Arab Secretary-General (1992~1997), was born in Egypt in 1922. He studied international law, political science and economics at Cairo University, Paris University and New York’s Columbia University (the latter as a Fulbright Scholar), and later taught at Cairo University. In the late 1970’s, he held several top positions in Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, including as foreign minister for a brief period, putting him on the front lines of several groundbreaking moments, such as heading Egypt’s negotiating team during the 1978 Camp David Summit Conference that forged an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. His ascent, in January 1992, as the United Nations’ sixth Secretary-General, was a watershed moment for Africa, becoming the first man from that continent to be elected, as well as the organization’s first Arab leader.
Although Dr. Ghali has deceased, his dedication and achievements to put an end to world conflicts during the post-Cold War era, will be forever etched in the history of peace building.
Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali has done so much to establish a valuable foundation for world peace. May his soul rest in peace.
Feb. 16, 2016
Sunhak Peace Prize Committee
