Kofi Annan

7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (1938-2018) · Ghana · Politicians · Died at 80

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He rose through the UN's own ranks to lead it - the first secretary-general elected from inside the institution - then shared a Nobel Prize with the organization itself in 2001.

Politicians Writer / Author Economics Politics Diplomacy 20th Century

A life in dates

2018Died18 August 2018“I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq war, and the fact that we could not stop it.. I worked very hard - I was working the phone, talking to leaders around the world...”In their words18 August 2018Quoted in Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies aged 80 (CNBC) (18 August 2018)Read the whole statement

2013Grand Officer of the Legion of HonourAward2012United Nations Envoy to SyriaOffice2010Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the CatholicAward2008Honorary Doctor of the University of NeuchâtelAward2007Gold Olympic OrderAwardNorth-South PrizeAward2006Grand Cross of Honor for Services to the Republic of AustriaAward2004Honorary Doctor of Harvard UniversityAward2003Sakharov PrizeAward2002Honorary Doctor of the Zhejiang UniversityAwardProfile in Courage AwardAward2001Honorary doctor of the Free University of BerlinAwardNobel Peace PrizeAward2000“You have said that your first priority is the eradication of extreme poverty.”In their words8 September 2000So spoke United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on September 8, 2000, to an assembly of the world’s most powerful men and women. WOLRead the whole statement

1999“Unless the Security Council is restored to its pre-eminent position as the sole source of legitimacy on the use of force, we are on a dangerous path to anarchy.”In their words19 May 1999Speech at the centennial of the International Peace Conference (19 May 1999)Read the whole statement

“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race. We all share the same basic values.”In their wordsAs quoted in Simply Living: The Spirit of the Indigenous People (1999) edited by Shirley A. JonesRead the whole statement

Honorary Doctor of the Howard UniversityAward1998“You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.”In their words24 February 1998Press conference regarding the use of force to gain compliance from Saddam Hussein (24 February 1998)Read the whole statement

“He is very calm - very, very calm. Never raises his voice. Well-informed, contrary to the sense outside that he is ill-informed and isolated. And decisive.”In their words24 February 1998On Saddam Hussein, Press conference (24 February 1998)Read the whole statement

Honorary Doctor of the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-SorbonneAward1997United Nations Secretary-GeneralOffice1997-20061938Born8 April 1938

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Kofi Annan 2012 (cropped)

7 Schuchardt Kofi-Annan UN-Generalsekreta╠êr

Annan and Weiss

Ghanéses (Ghanaians)

Her Community Walkathon 48

High Level Meeting between the EC and the WHO (P-009834 00-2)

Koffie 001

Kofi Annan (Black And White Photo)

In their own words 10

Kofi Annan

10 statements, newest first

I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq war, and the fact that we could not stop it.. I worked very hard - I was working the phone, talking to leaders around the world...
Aug 18, 2018, Quoted in Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies aged 80 (CNBC) (18 August 2018), Own words
Eradication of extreme poverty has been identified as a priority, and specific targets have been set for prescribed measures.
Sep 8, 2000, Address given at the United Nation's General Assembly Millennium Summit (8 September 2000), Own words
You have said that your first priority is the eradication of extreme poverty.
Sep 8, 2000, So spoke United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on September 8, 2000, to an assembly of the world’s most powerful men and women. WOL, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour2013

Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences2013

Confucius Peace Prize2012

Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic2010

Medal of honor Dag Hammarskjold2009

Freedom Award2008

Honorary Doctor of the University of Neuchâtel2008

Award of the Peace of Westphalia2008

Bruno Kreisky Award for Services to Human Rights2007

North-South Prize2007

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun2007

Gold Olympic Order2007

Grand Cross of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria2006

Olof Palme Prize2006

Four Freedoms Award - Freedom Medal2004

Honorary doctors of Ghent University2004

Honorary Doctor of Harvard University2004

Honorary Doctorate from Carleton University2004

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize2003

Sakharov Prize2003

Torstein Dale Memorial Prize2002

Profile in Courage Award2002

Honorary doctorate from the University of Geneva2002

Honorary Doctorate of the University of Alcala2002

Honorary Doctor of the Zhejiang University2002

Nobel Peace Prize2001

Philadelphia Liberty Medal2001

J. William Fulbright Prize2001

Honorary doctor of the Free University of Berlin2001

Honorary Doctorate from Brown University2001

Kora Awards2000

Honorary Doctor of the Dresden University of Technology1999

Honorary Doctor of the Howard University1999

Honorary Doctor of Comenius University1999

Honorary Doctor of the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne1998

Order of the Star of Ghana

Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"

Family

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About this person

Kofi Atta Annan joined the United Nations in 1962 as a staffer for the World Health Organization in Geneva and spent three decades moving through its hierarchy, including a stint as under-secretary-general for peacekeeping from 1992 to 1996. On 13 December 1996 the Security Council appointed him seventh secretary-general, making him the first to come from the UN staff itself; he won re-election in 2001 and left office in 2007. During those years he reformed the bureaucracy, fought HIV/AIDS in Africa, and launched the Global Compact, though he drew criticism for not expanding the Security Council and faced resignation calls over the Oil-for-Food Programme - investigations largely cleared him of personal corruption. After leaving office he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007, then took the UN-Arab League job on Syria in 2012 before quitting in frustration over stalled progress. In 2016 he was appointed to lead a commission on the Rohingya crisis. He died on 18 August 2018 and received a state funeral.

Country

Ghana

In common with Kofi

Paul CowanAlso in The Peacekeepers (2005)

Emmanuel MacronBoth received Award of the Peace of Westphalia

Fidel CastroBoth received Confucius Peace Prize

Robert MugabeBoth received Confucius Peace Prize

Václav HavelBoth received Award of the Peace of Westphalia

Cesária ÉvoraBoth received Kora Awards

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