Boutros Boutros-Ghali

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Boutros Boutros-Ghali (2002)

Boutros Boutros-Ghali (born November 14, 1922 in Cairo ; † February 16, 2016 ibid), Arabic بطرس بطرس غالي, DMG Buṭrus Buṭrus Ġālī , was an Egyptian diplomat , politician , author and university professor who was the sixth Secretary General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996 .

Life

Boutros-Ghali was a member of a family of Coptic Christians . His grandfather Boutros Ghali (1846-1910) was the first Christian Egyptian prime minister. His nephew, Youssef Boutros Ghali, was Egypt's minister of economics and finance between 1993 and 2011.

Boutros-Ghali attended the University of Cairo (degree: Bachelor of Law in 1946) and then studied international law at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris , where he obtained a doctorate in 1949 . Between 1949 and 1977 he was a professor at Cairo University.

He has published more than 100 articles, several books and received honors from over 24 countries.

Political life

Public office in Egypt

In 1977 Boutros-Ghali took part in the historic trip of Egypt's President Anwar as-Sadat to Israel . After Egypt's Foreign Minister Ismail Fahmi resigned in protest at President Sadat's rapprochement with Israel, Boutros-Ghali became Minister of State in the Foreign Ministry. He campaigned for a separate peace between Egypt and Israel and was considered a skilled diplomat . He was also considered one of the architects of the Camp David Agreement of 1978. In May 1991, he became Deputy Foreign Minister under Amr Musa .

According to US journalist Linda Melvern, in 1990 Boutros-Ghali approved a $ 26 million secret sale of weapons to the Hutu regime in Rwanda . These weapons are said to have been used to put down the RPF uprising of Paul Kagame and to prepare for the genocide in 1994.

Boutros-Ghali has been involved in resolving several conflicts in Africa . He also participated in the 1990 release of Nelson Mandela .

Secretary General of the UN

Boutros-Ghali was elected Secretary General on December 3, 1991 by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNO) and took office on January 1, 1992.

Boutros-Ghali advocated the use of UN troops in Somalia in 1992 . The disintegration of Yugoslavia was also often the subject of deliberations and UN resolutions in the Security Council and the General Assembly. In 1995 he campaigned for the oil for food program , which was supposed to help improve the nutritional situation and health of the Iraqi population, which had become difficult due to the embargo following the Second Gulf War (1990/1991). In 1994 he was criticized in connection with mistakes made by the UN during the genocide in Rwanda . Boutros-Ghali was confronted with financial difficulties of the UN and the limited possibilities for crisis management. During his tenure, the UN was restructured and the total number of employees was significantly reduced.

His term of office ended on December 31, 1996 after his re-election failed, mainly due to opposition from the USA .

Activities after his office as Secretary General

From 1997 to 2002 he was Secretary General of the International Organization of Francophonie , an organization of French-speaking countries. He was also President of the Board of Trustees of the Hague Academy for International Law .

His critical observations of world events were noticed by the public. For example, in April 2003 he described the Iraq war as a violation of the United Nations Charter .

Boutros-Ghali was one of the first to sign the call for a Parliamentary Assembly at the United Nations , which is intended to be a first step towards a world parliament. Since March 2009 he has also been involved in the newly established Russell Tribunal on the question of Palestine .

See also

Publications

  • Boutros Boutros-Ghali: Behind the scenes of world politics. Discorsi, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-9807330-0-9 .
  • Boutros Boutros-Ghali: Against the tyranny of urgency. Discorsi, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-9807330-1-7 .

Web links

Commons : Boutros Boutros-Ghali  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali dies
  2. ↑ Linda Melvern: Rwanda - Genocide and the Involvement of the Western World, 2004
  3. ↑ German Society for the United Nations: Chronicle (accessed on March 31, 2016)
personal data
SURNAME Boutros-Ghali, Boutros
ALTERNATIVE NAMES بطرس بطرس غالي (Arabic)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Egyptian politician, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992–1996)
DATE OF BIRTH November 14, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Cairo
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 2016
Place of death Cairo