PUBLIC FIGURE
Kofi Annan
Since Winning the EMMA Award
Kofi Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who went on to become a co-recipient alongside the UN of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize after winning the EMMA Awards in May for prioritising human rights and revitalising the UN. The Nobel Committee also recognised Annan’s commitment to the struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.
After the end of Kofi’s term as secretary-general, he established the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007.In 2012, Kofi was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria to help resolve the Syrian Civil War. Kofi had quit this role after becoming frustrated with the UN’s lack of progress concerning conflict resolution.In September 2016, he was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis.
Kofi Annan sadly passed-away on 18 August 2018 at the age of 80 after a short illness. His body was returned to his native Ghana from Geneva in a brief and solemn ceremony at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on 10 September 2018. Through his achievements and contributions to resolving conflicts and wars around the world, Annan’s legacy continues to inspire and shape future generations of citizens everywhere.
Background (Before 2001)
Born in Kumasi on the Gold Coast (now known as Ghana), Kofi Annan’s father was the Fante people chief and the elected governor of Ashanti province. Kofi studied at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in the United States in 1961. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics at the Institute universities des hautes études internationales in Geneva.
In 1962, he joined the United Nations, working for the World Health Organisation’s Geneva office whilst doing his studies. Kofi then worked in several positions at the UN Headquarters, including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996. In that role, he distinguished himself during the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in his handling of the transition of peacekeeping operations from UN forces to NATO forces. His April 1998 report to the Security Council on “The Causes of Conflict and the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa” was among several efforts to maintain the international community’s commitment to Africa.
Kofi has used his skills during many delicate political situations, including attempts in 1998 to gain Iraq’s compliance with Security Council resolutions, missions in 1998 to help promote the transition to civilian rule in Nigeria, an agreement in 1999 to resolve a stalemate between Libya and the Security Council relating to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, and diplomacy in 1999 to forge an international response to the violence in East Timor and efforts in 2000 to certify Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
