Former UN leader Kofi Annan dies
Nobel winner praised as ‘a guiding force for good’
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan died Saturday at his home in Bern, Switzerland, after a short illness, his foundation confirmed. He was 80.
“Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world,” read a statement by the Kofi Annan Foundation posted to his Twitter account. “He was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights and the rule of law.”
Annan, from Ghana, started at the U.N. in 1962, rising through the ranks to secretary-general from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the U.N. received the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
“Kofi Annan was a guiding force for good,” current U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”
Former President Barack Obama said that long after Annan “had broken barriers,” he “never stopped his pursuit of a better world.”
“The U.N. and the world have lost one of their giants,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
During his time as secretary-general, Annan presided over some of the worst failures and scandals at the world body, one of its most turbulent periods since its founding in 1945. Challenges from the outset forced him to spend much of his time struggling to restore its tarnished reputation.
When he departed from the United Nations, he left behind a global organization far more aggressively engaged in peacekeeping and fighting poverty, setting the framework for the U.N.’s 21st-century response to mass atrocities.
He served as chairman of a group founded by Nelson Mandela called The Elders, international leaders working for “peace and human rights” that includes former President Jimmy Carter.