UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday paid tribute to former UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Stoyan Ganev, who died of cancer earlier this month at the age of 57.

Ganev, a former Bulgarian diplomat, "brought welcome energy to our work at a time of particular challenge and hope," Ban said at a UNGA plenary meeting in memory of Ganev.

"Mr. Ganev, a skilled jurist and politician, used his tenure to advance that work, and we today continue to build on his contributions," he said.

Ganev was elected in 1992 to serve as president of the 47th session of the General Assembly, one of the youngest to ever hold the post.

He helped to build consensus on regional disarmament, establish a fund to protect the environment and secure humanitarian aids to Somalia.

"Most of all his tenure coincided with a period when the United Nations, freed from the constraints of the Cold War, was able to act and engage in new ways to address global problems," Ban said.

Ganev has served as deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Bulgaria. He negotiated Bulgaria's accession treaty with the European Union in 2005.