Former UN chief Javier Perez de Cuellar dead at 100

LIMA — Former UN chief Javier Perez de Cuellar, who was known for his peace-making efforts including brokering a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq war, died on Wednesday in his native Peru, at the age of 100, his son said.

Perez de Cuellar served as UN secretary general from 1981 to 1991, when he was often described as a "pacifist by vocation and nature".

Lauded by his countrymen as one of the most illustrious Peruvians of his era, Perez de Cuellar led the United Nations through a period marked by the fight against world hunger, the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq, as well as the civil war in US-supported El Salvador which led to UN-mediated peace talks.

"My dad died after a complicated week. He died at 8:09pm tonight [01:09 GMT Thursday] and is resting in peace," his son Francisco Perez de Cuellar told RPP radio.

Perez de Cuellar was known for his efforts to reconcile warring parties.

He played a crucial role in ending the Iran-Iraq war, securing the release of American hostages held in Lebanon and in peace agreements in Cambodia and El Salvador, the UN said.

Perez de Cuellar considered the 1990 independence of Namibia, one of the last colonial enclaves on the African continent, his greatest accomplishment as secretary general.

Current UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "profoundly saddened" at the passing of his predecessor.

"I extend my deepest condolences to Mr Perez de Cuellar's family, the Peruvian people and so many others around the world whose lives were touched by a remarkable and compassionate global leader who left our world a far better place," he said.

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra expressed deep regrets on Twitter over the death of "a distinguished Peruvian, a democrat through-and-through, who dedicated his entire life to working to improve our country".

Perez de Cuellar's popularity prompted him to accept the presidential nomination from one of Peru's leading political parties — the Union for Peru — in 1995, which pitted him against then-incumbent president Alberto Fujimori.