Kofi Atta Annan (1938 – 2018)

On Saturday August 18, 2018, the news broke of the passing on of one of the great sons of Africa and one time the Secretary-General of the United Nations Organisation, Kofi Atta Annan, aged 80.

Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana, where he had his initial education. He later moved to Geneva where he studied economics and international relations, from where he joined the UN in 1962. Ever since then, he had worked with the global body until his retirement in 2006. He worked for the UN in various capacities, first as a staff of the World Health Organisation (WHO), where he served as an administrative officer and as budget officer in Geneva, to being UN’s Secretary-General and later as a UN envoy to different parts of the world.

Apart from working briefly with Ghana Tourist Development Company as its Managing Director in 1974, Annan’s working years were spent with the UN, working in various departments and organs. He worked as the Assistant Secretary-General in the Office of Human Resources Management and equally served as security coordinator. He also worked as Assistant Secretary-General for the Office of Programme, Planning, Budget and Finance.

Upon his appointment as Secretary-General of the UN, Annan worked tirelessly to revitalise the United Nations, putting human rights and the search for peace, at the core of its mission. No wonder, his personal commitment motto to the world reads: “towards a fairer, more peaceful world.” This is why Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UN General Assembly, eulogised Annan as a man who “dedicated his life to making the world a better, more peaceful, and just place for all people. And in many ways, he is a symbol for the shared values of the United Nations”.

He equally spearheaded the global fight against HIV/Aids both in and out of office and also championed the millennium development goals – the targets that spurred all leaders around the world to focus more on improving health and education for all their citizens.

The seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Annan was the only Secretary-General that was picked from the staff list of the organisation in the history of UN. In addition, he was the only sub-Saharan African to lead the UN.

Annan dedicated his life to achieving peace, democracy, stability, security, equity, justice, human rights in the world. So effective was he that even after retirement, he remained active on the international stage, often being called upon to mediate and serve as peace envoy to troubled spots around the world. Notable among these nations were Syria, Afghanistan, among others. On the home from, his timely intervention on the post-election crisis in Kenya saved the country from plunging into war. No wonder, Kenya’s opposition leader RailaOdinga described Annan as “the man who stepped in and saved the country from collapse.”

It was Annan that influenced and oversaw the transition of the then UN’s United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to a more dynamic and responsive Implementation Force (IFOR). Because of his unflinching efforts in bringing peace to the world and the fresh breath he brought to the peace keeping organisation, Annan was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.

Described as “of one of our greatest compatriots” by the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, Annan would be remembered for his fight for civil rights, and boldly taken on the new challenges of terrorism and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Annan was committed to bringing the UN closer to the people by collaborating with civil society to promote world peace.

A man who dreamt of eradicating poverty from the world, Annan described his greatest achievement as the Millennium Development Goals which, for the first time, made poverty and child mortality its priority.

His charisma, commitment and diplomatic gifts will be missed and his contributions forever remembered. Adieu, Kofi!