GABORONE, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana, died on Friday at the age of 86, Botswanan President Duma Boko announced in a live television address to the nation.
Mogae passed away at around 7:30 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) on Friday, Boko said, describing the former president as a distinguished statesman who served the nation with "honor, integrity and extraordinary diligence."
Boko declared a three-day period of national mourning in honor of the late leader.
According to a government statement, Mogae had been receiving medical care at a hospital in Gaborone before being discharged on April 20 to continue recuperating at his residence.
Born in August 1939, Mogae served as Botswana's third president from 1998 to 2008. ■