Jamaican champion for women's equality at UN dies

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 (Reuters) Angela King, a former UN official for women's equality from Jamaica, has died, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today she will ''be mourned with profound affection and respect'' around the world.

King, 68, who was appointed by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 as an assistant secretary-general for gender issues and the advancement of women, died yesterday in a New York hospital from cancer, her friends said.

''A fervent champion of the equality of women and men, and women's enjoyment of their human rights, she knew that all parts of the UN had a responsibility to uphold those principles -- including in the area of peace and security,'' Ban said.

King's work helped pave the way for a landmark UN Security Council resolution in 2000 that recognized women's essential role in peace negotiations and setting up a post-conflict society.

King, a tall elegant woman, retired from the United Nations after a 40-year career in 2004 but was active in various UN-related issues until shortly before her death.

Among her many assignments, she served as head of the UN Observer Mission in South Africa from 1992 to 1994, at the time of the country's first democratic, nonracial elections, making her one of the few women in the world body to head such an operation.

''She will be mourned with profound affection and respect by many friends and allies around the world,'' Ban said.

King joined the United Nations secretariat in 1966 after serving as a diplomat in Jamaica's U.N. mission, one of the first two women Jamaica assigned to such a post in New York.

She is survived by a son.

Reuters SRS VP0200