China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Leaders mourn loss of ‘force for good’
Tributes pour in for Kofi Annan, former head of the UN, after his death at 80
Tributes poured in from around the world on Sunday for Kofi Annan, the former head of the United Nations who died on Saturday at the age of 80.
The Ghanian diplomat projected quiet charisma and was widely credited for raising the world body’s profile in global politics during his two terms as head of the UN from 1997 to 2006.
The first secretary general from sub-Saharan Africa, Annan “astutely guided the United Nations organisation into the 21st century defining an ambitious agenda that had made the UN truly indispensable to peace, prosperity and human dignity around the world”, Annan’s successor as UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said in a statement.
Annan’s family said he had passed away peacefully on Saturday after a short illness.
Annan, who lived not far from the UN European headquarters in Geneva, died in a Bern hospital, Swiss media reported.
In a statement issued immediately after Annan’s death, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described him as “a guiding force for good”, saying that “in many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations”.
Joining the UN in 1962, Annan spent much of his time engaging in humanitarianism-related work. He worked for the World Health Organization’s Geneva office while in Switzerland, and went on to serve as UN under-secretarygeneral for peacekeeping operations between 1992 and 1996.
In a statement carried by the Russian presidential press office, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying: “I sincerely admired his wisdom and courage as well as his ability to make balanced decisions even under the most dire and critical circumstances.”
“Russians will keep the memory of him forever.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Annan, as an old friend and inspiration for him, had devoted his life to making the world a more peaceful and united place.
“His achievements as UN Secretary-General were right- ly recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize and many other accolades throughout his life. But the greatest recognition we can give Kofi Annan is to keep his legacy and his spirit alive,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement that Annan shaped the UN “like hardly anyone before him”, adding that “in our present time, in which the common search for solutions to global problems is more urgent than ever, we will greatly miss Kofi Annan’s voice”.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the world will never forget Annan’s calm and resolute approach to matters, nor the strength of his commitments.
“France pays tribute to him,” Macron tweeted.
In Annan’s home country of Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo declared a week of national mourning starting on Monday, during which flags in the country and at its diplomatic missions would fly at half-staff.
“He brought considerable renown to our country by his position and through his conduct and comportment in the global arena ... He was an ardent believer in the capacity of the Ghanian to chart his or her own course onto the path of progress and prosperity,” Akufo-Addo said in a statement.
Recently, Annan had been working with The Elders, a group of former leaders founded by late South African President Nelson Mandela.
“His quiet advice on how best to defuse impending crises was in constant demand from all corners of the globe, in particular from Africa,” the group’s deputy chair Gro Harlem Brundtland said.