BOUTROS GHALI Boutros (Boutros-Ghali Boutros)

(p. 1922)
Born in Cairo on November 14, 1922, studied political science, economics and law at Cairo University and the University of Paris. He became a professor at Cairo University. In 1977 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1991 he became Deputy Prime Minister. In 1992 was appointed UN Secretary General.
In the first months of his tenure as Secretary General Boutros-Ghali proposed the concept of 'building peace' instead of the concept of 'peace'. By mid-1993 he visited 19 countries and inspected 13 peacekeeping operations. In 1994, unsuccessfully attempted to hold a decision on the UN to intervene militarily in the civil war in Rwanda. In 1996, despite the increasing unpopularity among UN member countries, in particular the U.S., Boutros-Ghali, announced his intention to run for second term. However, the U.S. used the veto, and was elected General Secretary of the Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan (January 1997). Following retirement, Boutros-Ghali spoke with sharp criticism of some of the UN, including on Iraq.