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Controversial Kurt Waldheim passes away at age 88

Kurt Waldheim, the former UN secretary-general and president of Austria whose reputation was tarnished by revelations over his Nazi past, died yesterday at the age of 88, his family said.

The former statesman suffered a heart attack last month and had been ailing ever since. He left a Vienna hospital last week and died surrounded by his family, they told the APA news agency.

Waldheim was UN chief from 1972 until 1982 and then president of Austria from 1986 to 1992, when he was at the center of an international storm over his wartime links to a Nazi militia.

His denials of any wrongdoing failed to stop him becoming a virtual outcast on the international diplomatic stage.

As UN secretary-general, Waldheim circled the globe preaching his "Christian vision of the world." He helped organize international conferences and pop concerts for the people of Cambodia.

He won the Austrian presidency in June 1986, but his victory turned sour following reports that he at least knew of Nazi war crimes while a young lieutenant in the Balkans, even if he did not actually participate in any.

His victory prompted Israel to recall its ambassador and boycott his inauguration.

The US put the Austrian president on its "watch list" of potential undesirables in April 1987 while scores of other countries snubbed him.

A 1987 trip to the Vatican for an audience with Pope John Paul II -- his first state visit after his election -- unleashed a diplomatic storm.

Waldheim steadfastly denied all allegations about his wartime activities, but critics said his protestations just raised more questions.
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