Dignitaries pay last respects to Annan at Ghana state funeral

World dignitaries laid to rest former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan in his native Ghana on Thursday, with calls to keep alive the legacy of a “stubborn optimist” to create a better, more peaceful world.

His widow, Nane Maria, led hundreds of mourners, including world leaders past and present, traditional leaders and global royalty, and called her husband an “extraordinary” person who had a “joy of life”.

“My love, you are now back home where you started your long journey.

“But may your wisdom and compassion continue to guide us, wherever we are,” she told mourners in the capital, Accra.

Annan’s son Kojo said his father had dedicated his life to the ideals of unity, equality, love and peace. “The greatest tribute we could pay is to follow his example,” he said at the ceremony of tributes and prayer.

Annan led the UN from 1997 to 2006 and was the first from sub-Saharan Africa to do so. He died on August 18 aged 80 at his home in Switzerland.

Thousands of Ghanaians this week paid their final respects as his coffin lay in state during three days of national mourning.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo called him “one of the truly iconic figures of modern times“.

Many Ghanaians described him as a father figure and a source of national pride, while his brother, Kobina, told the congregation he was not just a leader and statesman.

“We lost a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather and an uncle, a man of deep conviction who was as committed to instilling the values of fairness, integrity, kindness and service in each of us as he was to advocating for peace and human rights around the world,” he said. “Stubborn optimist that he was, he would want us all to look forward with hope and keep striving to create a freer, fairer and more peaceful world.”

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres praised his friend as an “exceptional global leader” who was dignified, courageous and a man of “integrity, dynamism and dedication”.

“Annan was the UN and the UN was him. As we face the headwinds of our troubled and turbulent times, let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan,” he said. “Our world needs it more than ever.”