UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed sadness over the death of Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

Through a statement attributable to his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief presented his "deepest" sympathies to President Quang's family as well as to the government and people of Vietnam.

"A friend of the United Nations and an important promoter of Vietnam's development, President Quang will be long remembered in his country and beyond," the statement said.

Tran Dai Quang died on Friday morning in a hospital in Hanoi at the age of 61, after a long time of disease, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Quang was born on Oct. 12, 1956 in northern Vietnam's Ninh Binh province. He held a doctorate degree in law and a master's degree in Chinese, and was conferred the title of professor in 2009.

In April 2016, the National Assembly of Vietnam, the country's top legislature, elected Quang as the Vietnamese president.