DHAKA: President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed condolences at the death of the former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner Kofi Annan Kofi Annan.

In his condolence message, The President said the world will remember the man for his contribution in establishing democracy and human rights, 

In a separate condolence message, the Prime Minister said the world has lost an iconic man at Kofi Annan's death. The premier also prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul and expressed sympathy for his bereaved family members.

Kofi Annan, one of the world's most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations, died at age 80 Saturday (August 18).

Annan, who was born in Ghana in 1938, served as the seventh UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006, and was the first to rise from within the ranks of the United Nations staff.

He had been a member of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for human rights, since it was founded in 2007. In 2013, he became its chairman.

The UN Migration Agency tweeted: "Today we mourn the loss of a great man, a leader, and a visionary."

Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations in 2001 "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."

He was married with three children.

BDST: 1750 HRS, AUG 18, 2018
AP/SMS