Kofi Annan, the diplomat who reached out to world, dies at 80
Leaders pay tributes to the charismatic former UN secretary general and Nobel peace price laureate
KOFI ANNAN, the former secretary general of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has died after a brief illness, aged 80.
A statement from the Kofi Annan Foundation said he had passed away peacefully, with his wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina by his side.
His African home country of Ghana, where he was a source of great national pride, announced it would mark a week of national mourning yesterday, as tributes came in from across global politics.
The career diplomat, who served as secretary general of the UN from 1997 to 2006, is credited with raising the UN’s international profile during his two terms and won over many world leaders with his “calm charisma”.
His early career was marked by the UN’s failure to prevent the death of civilians during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, when he was head of the body’s peacekeeping division.
He later played a key role in the development of the responsibility to protect doctrine, which was adopted in 2005 as a pledge by all member states to take action against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Tributes to the west African diplomat poured in from politicians of all stripes yesterday, among them is Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, Hosni Mubarak, a former Egyptian autocrat and Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister.
“I’m shocked and distressed to hear the news about Kofi. He was a good friend whom I saw only weeks ago. Kofi Annan was a great diplomat, a true statesman and a wonderful colleague who was widely respected and will be greatly missed,” said Mr Blair.
And, in a sign that Annan’s appeal extended far beyond western liberal democracies, Mr Zarif wrote on Twitter: “Extremely saddened by passing of Kofi Annan, a towering global leader and an unwavering champion for peace, justice and rule of law. Rest in peace my dear old friend.”
Vladimir Putin, the Russian President said: “I sincerely admired his wisdom and courage as well as his ability to make balanced decisions even under the most dire and critical circumstances.”
Antonio Guterres, the current UN secretary general voiced deep sadness at the news, describing his predecessor, who was the first secretary-general from Sub-Saharan Africa, as “a guiding force for good”.
Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with the UN in 2001 “for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world”.
“He rose through the ranks to lead the organisation into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination,” Mr Guterres added. “Like so many, I was proud to call Kofi Annan a good friend and mentor.”
Theresa May, the Prime Minster, also paid tribute to the “great leader and reformer” in a post on her Twitter account.
“Sad to hear of the death of Kofi Annan. A great leader and reformer of the UN, he made a huge contribution to making the world he has left a better place than the one he was born into. My thoughts and condolences are with his family,” she said. And in a statement to The Sunday Telegraph Jack Straw, the former UK foreign secretary, paid tribute to Annan for “navigating the UN through the immense post-9/11 turmoil with consummate skill” and described him as a “truly great man.”
Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the UK parliament’s foreign affairs committee, added: “Kofi Annan was one of the great international champions … his quiet voice was always worth hearing and we are all the poorer for his death.”
Born in Kumasi, the capital city of Ghana’s Ashanti region, Annan was the son of an executive of a European trading company, the United Africa company, which is a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch multinational company Unilever.
After ending his second term as UN secretary general following 10 years in 2006, Annan went on to take high-profile mediation roles in Kenya and in Syria.
He later set up a foundation devoted to conflict resolution and joined the Elders group of statesmen which was founded by Nelson Mandela to promote universal human rights.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights said he was grief-stricken over Annan’s death.
“Kofi was humanity’s best example, the epitome, of human decency and grace.
“In a world now filled with leaders who are anything but that, our loss, the world’s loss becomes even more painful,” he said.
“He was a friend to thousands and a leader of millions.”
‘Kofi was humanity’s best example, the epitome, of human decency and grace. He was a friend to thousands’