Mexico City (dpa) - Former United Nations secretary general Javier Perez de Cuellar died on Wednesday at the age of 100, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry confirmed.

"My dad died after a complicated week, he died at 8:09 pm and is resting in peace," his son Francisco Perez de Cuellar told Peruvian radio channel RPP.

Born in Lima in 1920, Perez de Cuellar served as the fifth UN secretary general between 1982 and 1991, following a long diplomatic career.

In 1995, he ran for president in Peru, but was defeated by incumbent Alberto Fujimori. He was later prime minister and then foreign minister for a short stint in 2000 to 2001.

"Javier Perez de Cuellar died at 100 in his home. One of the most illustrious Peruvians ... has left us," former Peruvian Congress head Pedro Olaechea said on Twitter.

The former ambassador will be lying in state at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, the ministry said in a statement.