Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the former UN secretary general and prime minister of Peru, has passed away at the age of 100.
Pérez de Cuéllar passed away at his home in Peru, his son told local radio outlet RPP. His funeral is scheduled to take place on Friday.
Peruvian Pérez de Cuéllar was the first UN chief from Latin America and served two terms at the helm.
During his tenure, he secured numerous peace deals spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East; one of the more notable being the ceasefire between Iran and Iraq in 1988.
Pérez de Cuéllar worked in the foreign ministry of Peru from 1940, serving in the country's embassies across Europe and Latin America. In 1946, he was part of the Peruvian delegation to the first UN General Assembly.
Pérez de Cuéllar would go on to lead the UN Security Council, where he helped secure a peace deal in 1974 between Greece and Turkey after the latter had invaded Cyprus.
He was later appointed the UN's fifth secretary general in 1981, a tenure which coincided with the Cold War era, during which time he oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Despite contesting the Peruvian presidential elections in 1995 and losing to Alberto Fujimori, Pérez de Cuéllar would go on to serve as prime minister under the interim government of Valentín Paniagua, which was established in 2000 after Fujimori was ousted following a bribery scandal.
During his eight months as prime minister, Pérez de Cuéllar and the interim government helped Peru transition to free and fair elections.
The incumbent UN secretary general, António Guterres, paid tribute to Pérez de Cuéllar, saying that he was “profoundly saddened” by the news of his passing.
Guterres said: "He was an accomplished statesman, a committed diplomat and a personal inspiration who left a profound impact on the United Nations and our world".
