Former UN head Boutros Boutros-Ghali dies

Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali died today at a hospital in Cairo after falling and breaking his pelvis. He was 93.

A prominent Egyptian diplomat from a Coptic Christian family, Boutros-Ghali led the United Nations between 1992 and 1996—the only secretary-general to serve for just one term. His tenure at the world body was marred by severe conflict, including genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia. He also clashed with the Clinton administration, which ultimately blocked his appointment to a second term.

In a book published three years after he left the United Nations, Boutros-Ghali blamed the United States for trying to control the UN and lacking finesse in dealing with global issues.

“The Roman Empire had no need for diplomacy. Neither does the United States,” he wrote.

Although he called the 1994 Rwandan genocide “my worst failure at the United Nations,” Boutros-Ghali also blamed the U.S., Britain, France, and Belgium for refusing to intervene unless impossible conditions were met.

“The concept of peacekeeping was turned on its head and worsened by the serious gap between mandates and resources,” he said.

Boutros-Ghali also faced charges of corruption for handling the UN’s lucrative oil-for-food program in Iraq. Three suspects in the eventual probe into the program had close ties to the secretary-general.

Before coming to the UN, Boutros-Ghali served the Egyptian government in several diplomatic posts, a tricky position for a Christian in a Muslim-majority nation. He was a key participant in peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt, defending his country against criticism from its Arab neighbors. While he served as acting foreign minister and minister of state for foreign affairs, he never became the official foreign minister because of his ethnic heritage.

In 2004, he became president of Egypt’s human rights council, part of pre-revolutionary attempts to adopt political and democratic reforms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.