Kofi Annan dies at 80
WORLD MOURNS FORMER UN SECRETARY GENERAL, PEACE PRIZE WINNER
Kofi Annan, the first black African secretary general of the United Nations died Saturday after a short illness. He was 80.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner was remembered as “radiating genuine kindness, warmth and brilliance in all he did” by his eponymous foundation.
Annan, who died in Bern, Switzerland, served two terms as head of the UN, from Jan. 1, 1997, to Dec. 31, 2006, being jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 along with the institution.
At UN headquarters on the East Side, the organization’s flag flew at half-staff and a bouquet of flowers was placed under Annan’s portrait.
Antonio Guterres, the current UN secretary general, issued a statement on Annan’s death.
“Kofi Annan was a guiding force for good. It is with profound sadness that I learned of his passing. In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations,” Guterres said. “He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”
He died “peacefully in his sleep,” Nana Akufo-Addo, the president of Ghana, where Annan was born, said after speaking to his widow.
The lifelong diplomat spent nearly his entire career with the United Nations.
His charismatic manner and political savvy helped him rise through the ranks to become its seventh secretary general, and the first hired from within.
Former President Barack Obama said Annan and his lasting dedication to diplomatic service embodied the UN’s mission.
“His integrity, persistence, optimism and sense of our common humanity always informed his outreach to the community of nations,” Obama said. “Long after he had broken barriers, Kofi never stopped his pursuit of a better world, and made time to motivate and inspire the next generation of leaders. Michelle and I offer our condolences to his family and many loved ones.”
Annan was born April 8, 1938, into an elite family in Kumasi, Ghana, the son of a provincial governor and grandson of two tribal chiefs. He studied economics at Macalester College in St. Paul before heading to Geneva for graduate studies and a career at the UN.
He worked for the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Ethiopia, its Emergency Force in Egypt and the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva before moving to New York and holding a series of senior posts at headquarters.
During his tenure as secretary general, Annan presided over some of the worst scandals at the world body, including the American-led Iraq War and several black eyes involving corrupt UN peacekeepers — but he took the hardship in stride.
“I think that my darkest moment was the Iraq War, and the fact that we could not stop it,” Annan said in a 2013 interview with Time magazine to mark the publication of his memoir, “Interventions: A Life in War and Peace.”
“I worked very hard — I was working the phone, talking to leaders around the world. The U.S. did not have the support in the Security Council,” Annan recalled in the videotaped interview posted on The Kofi Annan Foundation’s website.
After his unprecedented tenure atop the UN, Annan created his Geneva-based foundation in 2007. That same year he helped broker peace in Kenya, where election violence had killed over 1,000 people.
At a farewell news conference upon his retirement, Annan noted his promotion of human rights, the fight to close the gap between poverty and wealth and the UN campaign to fight infectious diseases like AIDS as his top achievements.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said Annan “devoted his life to making the world a more peaceful place through his compassion and dedication to service.”
“He worked tirelessly to unite us and never stopped fighting for the dignity of every person,” Haley said in a statement. Annan is survived by his wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina.