Kofi Annan was one of the most respected diplomats in the world who was Secretary General of the United Nations for almost a decade (from 1997 to 2006). One of the highlights of his two terms is his strong opposition to the US invasion of Iraq and his efforts to bring peace to the world. While his life has mostly been viewed through the prism of diplomacy, there are many other facets to his story, his life and his simple death.
Who is Kofi Annan?
Former Secretary General of the United Nations, he was born on April 8, 1938 in the Ashanti region of Gold Coast (Ghana), Kofi Atta Annan, alongside his twin sister, Efua Atta, who died in 1991.
He was brought up in a family of tribal leaders so his father, Henry Reginald Annan, was once a provincial governor in the country. Interestingly, his mother, Victoria Annan, also came from a family of tribal leaders.
His education and career
For his education, the man who would go on to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he attended Methodist boarding school and later moved to Kumasi College of Science and Technology, which is today’s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Ghana Technology. Nevertheless, it was at Macalester College in the United States, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that he obtained his undergraduate degree thanks to a grant from the Ford Foundation. He then attended the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, then the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1971 to 1972.
He began his working life in 1962 when he obtained a Director of Budget at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, thus marking his first step in his gradual rise in the United Nations, although he left it between 1974 and 1976 to work in his country, Ghana.
Before becoming Under-Secretary-General Director of Program Planning, Budget and Finance and Comptroller of the United Nations in 1990, he worked with various United Nations agencies, including the Economic Commission for Africa and the High Commissioner for Refugees. . More importantly, he was Under-Secretary-General for Human Resources Management and Security Coordinator for the United Nations.
Between March 1993 and February 1994, Annan served as the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations before becoming Under-Secretary-General until 1996 when he was appointed as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations replacing Boutros. Boutros-Ghali of Egypt.
Kofi Annan held this position until 2001, when he was again appointed for a second term in the same capacity. In the same year, Annan and the UN were jointly named the Nobel Peace Prize laureates “for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world.”
His tenure was not one of the best times for world peace, as it was when the United States was invading Iraq, which he described as an illegality.
With many accomplishments during his time in the United Nations, including launching the Global Compact campaign to promote corporate social responsibility and opposing Iran’s nuclear program, Kofi Annan became one of the secretaries most popular United Nations generals.
That said, his tenure has also seen controversies such as the sexual harassment case involving Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as Werner Blatter, UNHCR’s Director of Personnel. Although Lubbers was found guilty by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (KSCI), Kofi Annan cleared him of any wrongdoing, but in his annual report to the General Assembly, the Office of Internal Oversight Services stated that he found Lubbers guilty and had a negative impact. influence that Annan had.
Another major controversy he was involved in is what has come to be known as the “oil for food” scandal. The scandal involved his son, Kojo Annan, who allegedly received payments from Cotecna Inspection SA, a company awarded a contract by the United Nations’ oil-for-food programme. To investigate the matter, Mr. Annan set up an independent investigative committee which found him guilty of nothing, but the Secretary-General was criticized for his complacency in handling the case.
wife and family
The first woman he married was Titi Alakija, who was a Nigerian. The two became husband and wife in 1965, but unfortunately the marriage ended in 1983 in divorce. Before the end, the marriage was blessed with a son, Kojo Annan, born on July 25, 1973, as well as a daughter.
The next woman to become his wife was Nane MariaLagergren whom he married in 1984. A Swedish lawyer at the United Nations, Nane Maria Lagergren also resembled Annan. She had one daughter, Nina Cronstedt de Groot.
Along with his wife and three children, Annan maintained a rather simple family life away from the public eye, with the exception of Kojo, who was dragged into the public eye following the oil-for-food scandal.
Life and death
Living a life that can be described as very successful, Kofi Annan passed away on August 18, 2018 after a brief illness. According to his foundation, his last days were spent with his wife and three children. Since his retirement, the former Secretary General of the United Nations has lived in Switzerland where he died.