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Annan mourns death of late German President Johannes Rau

Annan mourns death of late German President Johannes Rau

Annan with President Johannes Rau (file photo)
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reacted today with sadness to the recent death of Johannes Rau, the former Federal President of Germany, and paid tribute to his legacy of reconciliation with Israel and Poland.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reacted today with sadness to the recent death of Johannes Rau, the former Federal President of Germany, and paid tribute to his legacy of reconciliation with Israel and Poland.

“Mr. Rau was widely respected as an outstanding statesman who made an invaluable contribution to building strong ties between Germany and the international community,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement.

“He will be remembered in particular for his personal contribution to reconciliation between Germany, Israel and Poland, which had a lasting impact.”

The statement memorialized Mr. Rau as “a good friend of the United Nations, and strongly committed to the Organization's purposes and principles.”

The Secretary-General met personally with the former German President on a number of occasions, including in the presence of both of their wives at Mr. Rau's residence in Berlin.