MINSK (BELARUS): Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei passed away at the age of 64, the Foreign Ministry of the country announced on Saturday.
"The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Makei has passed away, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus wrote on Twitter.
Details regarding the 'sudden' demise of the foreign minister yet remain unknown. The president of Belarus also expressed grief over the death of Foreign Minister Makei on Saturday to the family and friends of Makei, CNN reported citing the statement published on the presidential website.
Makei was born in 1958 in Grodno Region of Belarus and graduated from the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages in 1980 and Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria in 1993, according to his official bio on the foreign ministry's website. Fluent in both German and English, Vladimir Makei took hold of the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus since 2012.
He held the diplomatic rank of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. Prior to becoming the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus, he was an assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus from 2000-2008.
From 2008-2012, Makei was the head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, according to his official bio on the foreign ministry's website.
Belarus' Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei visited New Delhi in early November and discussed several issues including bilateral economic ties, the Ukraine conflict and multilateral cooperation with EAM Dr S Jaishankar.
Notably, Belarus is among the few countries, which is reportedly supporting the Russian military amid the Ukraine conflict.
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