UN chief mourns death of former humanitarian head

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday mourned the death of Ruud Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Guterres expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of Lubbers and to the people of the Netherlands.

Lubbers served as Dutch prime minister from November 1982 to August 1994. He was appointed UNHCR on Jan. 1, 2001 and resigned from the job in February 2005 over a sexual harassment scandal. He was succeeded by Guterres.

Lubbers died on Wednesday at the age of 78.