King

Angela King, former assistant secretary-general of the U.N. and special adviser to the secretary-general of the United Nations on gender issues and advancement of Women, died yesterday, at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre. King had been battling cancer for sometime.

King, who retired from the U.N., in April 2004, for health reasons after 40 years of service, was born in Kingston and attended St. Hilda's High and Wolmer's High. As assistant secretary-general, she made history in being the first woman and first Jamaican to hold that post. Besides advising the secretary-general on women's affairs, King was also chairperson of the U.N. International Committee on Women's Rights.