We are saddened by the passing of Raquelina Fernando Langa, who passed away on Friday, 25 March, 2016.
Raquelina was a young Mozambican woman who, during a 2013 visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to her school in Mozambique, asked him if “a girl like her could one day become Secretary-General of the UN”. On 12 August, 2014 Ban invited Raquelina to visit the United Nations to celebrate International Youth Day as his special guest for the day.
In a letter to her family the Secretary-General has expressed his deep personal condolences at her passing. He wrote that, “While her life was short her legacy will be long. Raquelina was more than a bright individual for Mozambique, she was the embodiment of why the world needs to invest in the health, well-being, and future of young women everywhere.”
We offer our sincere condolences to her family and her friends. As we remember Raquelina, we look back at her joint interview with the Secretary-General on the day of her visit in 2014: