Kofi Annan
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| Kofi Annan | |
 | |
| In office 1 January 1997 – 31 December 2006 | |
| Deputy | Louise Fréchette (1997–2006) Mark Malloch Brown (2006) |
| Preceded by | Boutros Boutros-Ghali |
| Succeeded by | Ban Ki-moon |
| Born | 8 April 1938 Kumasi, Gold Coast |
| Nationality | Ghanaian |
| Spouse(s) | Titi Alakija (divorced) Nane Maria Annan |
| Alma mater | Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Macalester College Graduate Institute of International Studies MIT |
| Religion | Christian (Protestant)[1] |
Contents[show] |
[edit] Early years and education
Kofi Annan was born in the Kofandros section of Kumasi, Ghana – in what was then the British colony of the Gold Coast. He is a twin, a respected status in Ghanaian culture. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shares the middle name Atta, which in Fante and Akan means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's elite families; both their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.[2]In the Ghanaian tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, and/or in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday.[3] His middle name, Atta, indicates that he is a twin.
Pronunciation: Annan has said his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.[4]
From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan has said that the school taught him "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere".[5] In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, Ghana gained independence from Britain.
In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, in 1961. Annan then did a DEA degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales IUHEI) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management (1971–72) in the Sloan Fellows program and earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree.
Annan is fluent in English, French, Kru, other dialects of Akan, and other African languages.[citation needed][6]
[edit] Early career
In 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations (UN). From 1974 to 1976, he worked as the Director of Tourism in Ghana. In the late 1980s, Annan returned to work for the UN, where he was appointed as an Assistant Secretary-General in three consecutive positions: Human Resources, Management and Security Coordinator (1987–1990); Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Controller (1990–1992); and Peacekeeping Operations (March 1993-February 1994).The Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 while Annan directed UN Peacekeeping Operations. In 2003 Canadian ex-General Roméo Dallaire, who was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003), General Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict, and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to provide responses to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered Tutsis. In 2004, ten years after the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said, "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."[7]
Annan served as Under-Secretary-General from March 1994 to October 1995. He was appointed a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, serving for five months before returning to his duties as Under-Secretary-General in April 1996.
[edit] Secretary-General of the United Nations
[edit] Appointment
On 13 December 1996, the United Nations Security Council recommended Annan to replace the previous Secretary-General, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, whose second term faced the veto of the United States.[8][9] Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly,[10] he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.[edit] Activities
During the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Annan called on the United States and the United Kingdom not to invade without the support of the United Nations. In a September 2004 interview on the BBC, when questioned about the legal authority for the invasion, Annan said he believed it was not in conformity with the UN charter and was illegal.[11][12]
Annan supported sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan. He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one. Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on women's rights and other topics.
Beginning in 1998, Annan convened an annual UN "Security Council Retreat" with the 15 States' representatives of the Council. It was held at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) Conference Center at the Rockefeller family estate at Pocantico, and was sponsored by both the RBF and the UN.[13]
[edit] Lubbers sexual-harassment investigation
In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the complaint brought by four women workers against Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees for sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation. The report also reviewed a long-serving staff member's allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Werner Blatter, Director of UNHCR Personnel. The investigation found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment; no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official, or two subsequent complaints filed later that year. In the course of the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter which some considered was a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges.[14] On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally.[15] His decision held until November 2004. When the OIOS issued its annual report to the UN General Assembly, it stated that it had found Lubbers guilty of sexual harrassment. These events were widely reported and weakened Annan's influence.On 17 November 2004, Annan accepted an OIOS report clearing Dileep Nair, UN Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, of political corruption and sexual harassment charges. Some UN staff in New York disagreed with this conclusion, leading to extended debate on 19 November.
The internal UN-OIOS report on Lubbers was leaked, and sections were published by a British newspaper. In February 2005, he resigned as head of the UN refugee agency. Lubbers said he wanted to relieve political pressure on Annan.[16]
[edit] Oil-for-Food scandal
In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son Kojo Annan received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation.Annan appointed the Independent Inquiry Committee,[17] which was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker;,[18] then the director of the United Nations Association of the US. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied having had a meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry, he recalled that he had met with Cotecna's chief executive Elie-Georges Massey twice. In a final report issued on 27 October, the committee found insufficient evidence to indict Kofi Annan on any illegal actions, but did find fault with Benan Sevan, a Cypriot national who had worked for the UN for about 40 years. Appointed by Annan to the Oil-For-Food role, Sevan repeatedly asked Iraqis for allocations of oil to the African Middle East Petroleum Company. Sevan's behavior was "ethically improper", Volcker said to reporters. Sevan repeatedly denied the charges and argued that he was being made a "scapegoat".[citation needed] The Volcker report was highly critical of the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new position be established of Chief Operating Officer (COO), to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities then under the Secretary General's office. The report listed the companies, both Western and Middle Eastern, that benefited illegally from the program.[18][citation needed]
[edit] Relations between the United States and the United Nations
Kofi Annan supported[19] his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, who openly criticized the United States in a speech on 6 June 2006: "[T]he prevailing practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another. [...] [That] the US is constructively engaged with the UN [...] is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News."[20] Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer."[21]The talk was unusual because it violated unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticize member nations.[21] The interim U.S. ambassador John R. Bolton, appointed by President George W. Bush, was reported to have told Annan on the phone: "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen in that entire time."[21] Observers from other nations confirmed Malloch's view, that conservative politicians in the US prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of US involvement in the UN.[22] After failing to receive Senate confirmation for the UN position, Bolton later worked for Fox News.
[edit] UN Resolution 61/225: World Diabetes Day
Kofi Annan witnessed the United Nations General Assembly's passage of UN Resolution 61/225, to establish World Diabetes Day. The Resolution was the second UN General Assembly Resolution on a health-related issue (the other being HIV/AIDS). Resolution 61/225 is the only Health-related UN Resolution to pass by consensus. Sponsored by the Republic of South Africa and Bangladesh, the Resolution was passed on 20 December 2006.[edit] Farewell addresses
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On 11 December 2006, in his final speech as Secretary-General, delivered at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, Annan recalled Truman's leadership in the founding of the United Nations. He called for the United States to return to President Truman's multilateralist foreign policies, and to follow Truman's credo that "the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world". He also said that the United States must maintain its commitment to human rights, "including in the struggle against terrorism."[24][25]
[edit] Recommendations for UN reform
After years of research, Annan presented a progress report, In Larger Freedom, to the UN General Assembly, on 21 March 2005. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other UN reforms.[26]On 31 January 2006, Kofi Annan outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN in a policy speech to the United Nations Association UK. The speech, delivered at Central Hall, Westminster, also marked the 60th Anniversary of the first meetings of the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.[27]
On 7 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled: "Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide".[28]
On 30 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his analysis and recommendations for updating the entire work programme of the United Nations Secretariat over the last 60 years. The report is entitled: "Mandating and Delivering: Analysis and Recommendations to Facilitate the Review of Mandates".[29]
[edit] Post-UN career
Upon his return to Ghana, Annan was immediately suggested as a candidate to become the country's next President.[30]He has become involved with several organizations with both global and African focuses. In 2007, Annan was named chairman of the prize committee for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, was chosen to lead the new formation of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), became a member of the Global Elders, was appointed president of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, and was selected for the MacArthur Foundation Award for International Justice.
In the beginning of 2008, as head of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, Annan participated in the negotiations to end the civil unrest in Kenya. He threatened to leave the negotiations as mediator if a quick decision was not made.[31] On 26 February 2008 he suspended talks to end Kenya's violent post-election crisis.[32] On 28 February, Annan managed to have President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga sign a coalition government agreement and was widely lauded by many Kenyans for this landmark achievement. That was the best deal achieved then under the mediation efforts.
Annan currently serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion USD gift to support UN causes. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN.[33]
Annan is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday 16 June 2008 entitled Africa's Development: Promises and Prospects.[34]
Kofi Annan was appointed the Chancellor of the University of Ghana in 2008.[35]
Annan has signed up to be one of the Counsellors at One Young World a non-profit organisation which hopes to bring together 1500 young global leaders of tomorrow from every country in the world.
In May 2009 Columbia University announced that Annan will join a new program being launched by Dean John Coatsworth at the School of International and Public Affairs as one of the first group of Global Fellows.The Global Fellows program will bring students together with global practitioners to share firsthand knowledge of experiences in the life of an international or public figure. He is also a fellow of The Committee on Global Thought appointed by the University.
On 2 September 2009, Annan was unveiled as the first Li Ka Shing Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The announcement was made during the school's 5th anniversary celebrations.[36]
[edit] Honours
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (Kumasi), Honorary Doctor of Science, 24 August 1998
- United Nations Mandated University for Peace, Honorary President, 1999
- Lund University, Honorary Doctor of Law, 1999
- National University of Ireland, Doctor of Law, 22 January 1999
- Technische Universität Dresden, doctor honoris causa, 27 April 1999
- Howard University, honorary doctorate of humane letters, 8 May 1999
- University of Notre Dame, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, 21 May 2000
- Seton Hall University, John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Honorary Doctorate, February 2001
- Brown University, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2001
- Liberty Medal International Selection Commission, Liberty Medal, 4 July 2001
- Free University of Berlin, doctor honoris causa, 13 July 2001
- Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Peace Prize, jointly presented to Kofi Annan and the United Nations, 2001
- Tilburg University, Honorary Doctorate, 2002
- Northwestern University, Doctor of Laws, 21 June 2002
- 2002 winner of the "Profiles in Courage Award", given by the JFK Memorial Museum.
- University of Pittsburgh, honorary Doctor of Public and International Affairs degree 21 October 2003
- Ghent University (Belgium), doctor honoris causa 21 March 2003
- Carleton University, Legum Doctor, honoris causa, 9 March 2004
- University of Ottawa, Doctor of the University Degree, 9 March 2004
- University of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 16 May 2005
- Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty (Portugal), 11 October 2005
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, doctor honoris causa, 12 October 2005
- The George Washington University, Doctor of Public Service, 5 May 2006
- University of Tokyo, Honorary Doctorate, 18 May 2006
- Order of the Netherlands Lion, Knight Grand Cross, 2006
- Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, 30 October 2006
- University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Max Schmidheiny Foundation Freedom Prize (originally awarded 2003, but postponed due to Annan's illness), 18 November 2006
- Princeton University, Crystal Tiger Award, 28 November 2006
- Inter Press Service, International Achievement Award for Annan's lasting contributions to peace, security, and development, 19 December 2006
- Olof Palme Prize, 2006
- Honorary Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II (GCMG), 2007.[37]
- MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Award for International Justice
- King's College London, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2008
- North-South Prize of the Council of Europe 2007
- Peace of Westphalia Prize 2008
- Harvard University Honors Prize 29 January 2008
