Kofi Annan of Ghana, whose popular and influential reign as secretary general of the United Nations was marred by White House anger at his opposition to the American invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s, died Aug. 18 in Bern, Switzerland. He was 80.
The death was announced by the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation. The cause was not immediately disclosed.
Current U.N. Secretary General António Guterres called Annan "a guiding force for good," and added: "He provided people everywhere with a space for dialogue, a place for problem-solving and a path to a better world.