KOFI ANNAN

“In the 21st Century I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound, awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion. This will require us to look beyond the framework of States, and beneath the surface of nations or communities. We must focus, as never before, on improving the conditions of the individual men and women who give the State or Nation its richness and character”. Nobel lecture, Oslo, Norway, 10 December 2001

Son of Henry Reginald and Victoria Annan, Kofi was born on 8th April 1938 in Kumasi, a city of Ghana. His family belonged at the élite of the country, both grandfathers and an uncle were tribal leaders. He is a diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary- General of the United Nations from 1st January 1997 to 1st January Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Kofi Annan of Ghana, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, is the first to be elected from the ranks of UN staff. His first five-year term began on 1st January 1997 and, following his subsequent re-appointment by the UN Member States, he will begin a second five-year term on 1st January 2002.

The Secretary-General has strengthened partnerships with civil society, the private sector and others outside of government whose strengths complement those of the UN. He has called for a "Global Compact" to encourage businesses to respect standards relating to the environment, employment laws and human rights.

Annan has given priority to revitalizing the UN through a comprehensive programme of reform; strengthening the Organization's traditional work in the areas of development and the maintenance of international peace and security; advocating human rights, the rule of law and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity; restoring public confidence in the Organization by reaching out to new partners and, in his words, by "bringing the United Nations closer to the people". The Secretary-General has also taken a leading role in mobilizing the international community in the battle against HIV/AIDS, and more recently against the global terrorist threat.

After ten years as Secretary-General of the United Nations, ”a job of hell“ as he himself defined, and after Nobel Prize in Peace in 2001, gives way to his successor Ban Ki Moon, in an era dominated by genocide, terrorism.

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