The first African to become secretary-general of the United Nations is a native of Egypt Boutros Boutros-Ghali. From the article below you’ll find out information about the life and deeds of this person. He headed the secretariat, which is one of the 6 main institutions of the union. The significance of his activities is difficult to deny. Find out more interesting facts about it. In many respects, he differs from his followers and predecessors.
Family, youth, and scientific activity
- He was born on November 14, 1922, came from a fairly influential, well-known Coptic clan that occupied important positions in Egypt.
- His mother Safela Mikhail Sharubim was the daughter of a prominent public servant and historian Mikhail Sharubim. During the monarchy, representatives of this richest Christian family were ambassadors, chamberlains and ministers.
- The grandfather of the future United Nations secretary general whose name was Boutros Gali-Pasha was an Egyptian prime minister at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1910, he fell at the hands of Arab nationalist.
- The uncle of Boutros Gali – Vasif was appointed to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1924.
- The young man followed the route of his famous ancestors and built a career for himself in the political industry and in law and economics. Boutros received his education at the University of Cairo.
- Three years later he became a doctor of philosophy after studying international law at the University of Paris.
- This man was fluent in French and English, which further gave him an edge in the struggle for the post of UN Secretary General.
- This is not all the achievements of this gifted person. He was also invested in political science, public law, and economics. For each of these sciences, he had prestigious diplomas.
- Between 1949-1977 he was engaged in international relations and law as a professor.
- He also worked at Columbia University in the 1950s. He headed the research department at the academy in Hague and acted as a freelance professor in Paris.
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Political career
He headed the Egyptian Foreign Ministry with two presidents – Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak from 1977 to 1991. During is tenure, Egypt made a fateful peace with Israel, for which Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize, and then paid with his life at the hands of the Islamists.
Youssef Boutros Ghali, nephew of the former UN secretary general, for several years, headed the Ministry of Finance in the era of Mubarak.
Boutros became the first UN secretary general among representatives of Arab states and Africa and held this post from 1992 to 1996.
Ghali largely foresaw changes in global politics, having issued a document in 1992 titled “An Agenda for Peace” where he outlined the views of the diplomat on the political development of the world community. This document is very relevant to this day. The period of his work is described in his memoirs. “As SG, I defended the independence of the UN,” he said.
Guided by this goal, he took several steps that affected the interests of the US (and Israel), which ultimately deprived him of chances of re-election as UN head.
Despite his great diplomatic efforts, he was unable to prevent the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, where more than 1 million people died. The politician said that he contacted the leaders of various states, asking them to send troops to prevent the monstrous crisis.
“Unfortunately, let me say that I failed. This is a scandal ” – Boutros-Ghali said when the Rwandan Hutus began to routinely destroy the Tutsi. Critics argued that his active intervention only spurred the violence.
Two years later, in 1996, despite the pressure from the US, he authorized the publication of a report on the tragedy in the Lebanese village of Qana in spring of the same year. As a result of the shelling of UN peacekeeping force post in Lebanon by Israeli artillery, about 100 refugees (including 52 children) and 116 people were injured.
The UN experts conducted an investigation and came to the understanding that the bombardment was intentional. The US then persistently advised the SG not to publish the report on the investigation in Qana, but to only say it verbally. However, Boutros Ghali felt that people had the right to know everything.
Ultimately, the United States vetoed his re-election as secretary general, and he was the only one in this post who served 1 term.
In his last years, he lived in Paris, a city that he loved very much. The former SG died on the 16th February last year in a Cairo hospital at the age of 94. He left behind a long list of good deeds very worthy of respect.
Critic of the USA
Ghali was critical about the role of the United States in the UN, saying in an interview after his resignation that the organization had turned into an “instrument of American foreign policy.”
He is remembered for his irreconcilable resistance to American actions in the Balkans. The diplomat also spoke out against the bombing of Bosnia, which the US planned to carry out.
In 1999, in his autobiographical book “Unvanquished: A US-UN Saga” Boutros-Ghali criticized many representatives of the US administration during the tenure of Bill Clinton and, in particular, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, calling her “an insignificant political adviser” and a bad diplomat. The book caused a negative reaction from the White House.
He was not an American protégé. He was the secretary general with his own opinion which were very extraordinary and that’s why the Americans forced him to resign.
The job of the Egyptian diplomat was particularly difficult since it was a morbid time for many countries. New world political system emerged at the time. This was primarily due to the consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union, one of the founders of the UN. The Soviet Union disintegrated, the world became unipolar, and in this world, he had to conduct peacekeeping operations.
Father of peacemaking
“An Agenda for Peace” is especially important for modern peacekeeping within the UN. Ghali defined this quite easily: “Practically feasible mandate; good cooperation in the fulfillment of mandate; continued support from the SC; the readiness of members to send the necessary military, police and civilian personnel, including specialists; due command of the UN; adequate logistical, financial support “.
All modern international peacekeeping operations are organized precisely on the basis of these principles.
After leaving the post of UN head in 1996, Ghali continued his work at Hague Academy of International Law. Then he became a Director for Human Rights in Egyptian National Council.
The name of this charismatic and charming diplomat is well known to many people interested in world politics. But even those who know a little about the work of the UN remember this man at least for his unusual double name. It has often been mentioned in skits with an international theme.
Ghali himself valued good humour and even gave an interview to the famous British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who acted under the pseudonym Ali G. Boutros-Ghali gave him good advice on how to achieve peace throughout the world. “Lower the cannon and listen to Bob Marley,” advised the experienced diplomat.
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