MNA � Ghanaian diplomat, who served as seventh secretary general of United Nations between 1997 and 2006, dies aged 80.

Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, has died at the age of 80 after a short illness, his family and foundation announced on Saturday.

Born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938, he was the first secretary general to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff.

The Ghanaian was the seventh secretary general of the UN between 1997 and 2006 and won the Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work.