A dedicated son of Africa
KOFI Annan, the soft-spoken, consummate diplomat and highly respected former secretary general of the United Nations, has in death managed a rare feat – to bring many world leaders to an agreement. Major international leaders – from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the US’s Mike Pompeo, Iran’s Mohammad Javad Zarif, to Angela Merkel and Theresa May – have paid glowing tributes to a man who was the first from sub-Saharan Africa to occupy this exalted position.
Annan died on Saturday, aged 80, in Switzerland. He devoted virtually his entire career to the UN, where he served two terms as secretary general between January 1997 and December 2006.
He will be remembered as a humanitarian who spent his career trying to defuse ugly conflicts, some of which spun out of control.
The Kofi Annan Foundation summed up his legacy: “Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world.
“Wherever there was suffering or need, he reached out and touched many people with his deep compassion and empathy. He selflessly placed others first, radiating genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did.”
He was no stranger to our shores, having been chairperson of The Elders – an elite group of former leaders founded by Nelson Mandela – which played a prominent role in furthering the cause of peace in many regions. Annan was in South Africa with The Elders last month to celebrate what would have been Mandela’s 100th birthday.
Among his most notable peace mediation roles on the continent was the part he played to halt the 2007 violence that tore Kenya apart during elections.
As ethnic mayhem escalated, with two sides laying claim to the presidency, Annan put the combatants – Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga – in a room and told them: “There’s only one Kenya.”
He persuaded them to work together in a joint government, a compromise that ended the violence that had claimed more than 1 200 lives.
Annan, however, had his painful moments. He was at the helm at the time of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, and was unable to bring peace to Syria and bring to rest the failures of diplomacy in Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, Cyprus, Somalia and Iraq. However, his enduring moral rectitude – which helped him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 – remained undented. His reputation as a crusader for justice, great diplomat, true statesman and champion for peace are beyond reproach.
He was a true, dedicated son of Africa.