New York

27 December 2006

Statement Attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the Death of former US President Gerald Ford

The Secretary-General mourns the passing of former President Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President of the United States, who died yesterday at the age of 93. He extends his sincere condolences to Mrs. Betty Ford, to the family of the former President and to the government and People of the United States.

President Ford will be remembered for the leadership, calm resolve and broad experience he brought to the presidency during a particularly difficult period. He will also be remembered for his support for the United Nations and the 1975 Helsinki process, which reaffirmed human rights as a legitimate value in world affairs.