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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he is deeply saddened by the passing of Shimon Peres, Israel's former president.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Peres passed away in a hospital outside Tel Aviv, two weeks after suffering a stroke.
While offering his condolences to the people of Israel, Ban said in a statement that Peres played a central role in Israel's founding, and served his country throughout his life.
"He worked tirelessly for a two-state solution that would enable Israel to live securely and harmoniously with the Palestinians and the wider region, a commitment duly recognized when he shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat," said the statement.
"May his spirit of determination guide us as we work to ensure peace, security and dignity for Israelis, Palestinians and all the peoples of the region," it added.
Peres was born as Szymon Perski in 1923 in a Polish town now known as Vishnyeva in Belarus. In 1934, he and his family immigrated to Israel, then known as Palestine.
His nearly 70-year political career covered almost every role in the political arena, including president, two terms as prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister, finance minister, chairman of the Labor party, and leader of the opposition in the parliament.
