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Revision as of 11:23, 8 December 2006 by 210.212.208.226 (talk) (→Secretary-General of the United Nations)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Kofi Atta Annan | |
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| 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations | |
| In office January 1, 1997 – December 31, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Boutros Boutros-Ghali |
| Succeeded by | Ban Ki-moon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 8, 1938 Kumasi, Ghana |
| Nationality | ghanaian |
| Spouse(s) | Titi Alakija (div.) Nane Maria Annan |
Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat and the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Early years and family
Kofi Annan (IPA: /kofi ænən/) was born to Victoria and Henry Reginald Annan in the Kofandros section of Kumasi, Ghana. He is a twin, an occurrence that is regarded as special in Ghanaian culture. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shares the middle name 'Atta', which in Fante means 'twin'. As with most Akan names, his first name indicates the day of the week he was born: Kofi denotes a boy born on a Friday. The name Annan can indicate that a child was the fourth in the family, but in Kofi's family at some time in the past it became a family name, and Kofi inherited it from his parents. Annan's surname is frequently mispronounced as /ə nonˈ/ or /a nonˈ/. In an interview on National Public Radio, shortly after taking office as U.N. Secretary General, he was asked how to say his name, and explained that the correct pronunciation rhymes with "cannon"; thus, /ænən/.
Annan's family was part of the country's elite; both of his grandfathers and his uncle were tribal chiefs. His father was half Asante and half Fante; his mother was Fante. Annan's father worked for a long period as an export manager for the Lever Brothers cocoa company.
Annan is married to Nane Maria Annan, a Swedish lawyer and artist who is the half-niece of Raoul Wallenberg. He has two children, Kojo and Ama, from his previous marriage to Nigerian Titi Alakija. He and Alakija divorced in the late 1970s. Nane Annan also has one child, Nina Cronstedt de Groot, from a previous marriage.
Education
From 1954 to 1957, the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales IUHEI) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62, later attending the MIT Sloan School of Management (1971–72) Sloan Fellows programme and receiving a Master of Science (M.S.) degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Annan is fluent in English, French, Kru, other dialects of Akan, and other African languages.
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UN controversies during Annan's tenure
Lubbers sexual harassment investigation
In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the complaint of sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation against Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and sexual harassment and misconduct as well against Werner Blatter, Director of UNHCR Personnel by a long-serving staff member. The investigation report found Ruud Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment and no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official or the two subsequent complaints she filed later that year. In the course of the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter that some speculate was a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges of misconduct. However, on July 15, 2004, Lubbers was declared innocent by Kofi Annan. His decision only lasted until November when OIOS issued its annual report to the UN General Assembly noting it has found Lubbers guilty. Widely reported in the media, these events served to weaken Annan's position.
On November 17, 2004, Annan accepted a report clearing UN Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services Dileep Nair of graft and sexual harassment charges, some viewed as retaliation against Nair for supporting the complainant in the Lubbers affair. Still, clearance was not viewed favorably by some UN staff in New York, leading to extensive debate on November 19.
Administration of the Oil-for-Food Programme
In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Programme. Kofi Annan called for an investigation into this matter.
The Independent Inquiry Committee into The United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme was appointed by Annan and led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, in spite of the latter's strong ideological ties to the UN as director of the United Nations Association of the United States of America. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied having had a meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry he recalled that he had met with Cotecna's chief executive Elie-Georges Massey twice. In a final report issued on October 27, the committee exonerated Kofi Annan of any illegal actions, but found fault with the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new position of Chief Operating Officer to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities which currently fall to the Secretary General's office. The report listed the companies, both Western and Middle Eastern, who illegally benefited from the programme. Some believe the committee and its outcome to have been politically motivated.
Conflict between the United States and the United Nations
Kofi Annan supported his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, who openly criticized the United States media in a speech on June 6, 2006: 'The prevailing practice of seeking to use the U.N. almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable...You will lose the U.N. one way or another.' US ambassador John R. Bolton said to Annan on the phone: 'I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior U.N. official that I have seen in that entire time.'
Annan's recommendations for U.N. reform
On March 21, 2005, Annan presented a progress report, In Larger Freedom, to the UN General Assembly. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other UN reforms.
On March 7, 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled: "Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide".
Honors
- Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (Kumasi), Honorary Doctor of Science, August 24, 1998
- United Nations Mandated University for Peace, Honorary President, 1999
- Lund University, Honorary Doctor of Law, 1999
- National University of Ireland, Doctor of Law, January 22, 1999
- Technische Universität Dresden, doctor honoris causa, April 27, 1999
- Howard University, honorary doctorate of humane letters, May 8, 1999
- University of Notre Dame, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, May 21, 2000
- Seton Hall University, John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Honorary Doctorate, February 2001
- Brown University, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, May 28, 2001
- Free University of Berlin, doctor honoris causa, July 13, 2001
- Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Peace Prize, jointly presented to Kofi Annan and the United Nations, 2001
- Northwestern University, Doctor of Laws, June 21, 2002
- 2002 winner of the "Profiles in Courage Award," given by the JFK Memorial Museum.
- University of Pittsburgh, honorary Doctor of Public and International Affairs degree October 21, 2003
- Ghent University (Belgium), doctor honoris cause March 21, 2003
- Carleton University, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, March 9, 2004
- University of Ottawa, Doctor of the University Degree, March 9, 2004
- University of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, May 16, 2005
- Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty (Portugal), October 11, 2005
- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Doctor Honoris Causa, October 12, 2005
- The George Washington University, Doctor of Public Service, May 5, 2006
- University of Tokyo, Honorary Doctorate, May 18, 2006
- Order of the Dutch Lion, Grand Cross, 2006
- Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, October 30, 2006
- University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Max Schmidheiny Foundation Freedom Prize (originally awarded 2003, but postponed due to Annan's illness), November 18, 2006
- Princeton University, Crystal Tiger Award, November 28, 2006
References
- Annan, Kofi: In Larger Freedom, 21 March 2005.
- Jan Tromp, Relatie Washington en VN is danig verziekt (De Volkskrant, zaterdag 10 juni 2006) 6.
Footnotes
- UN report slams Lubbers for 'regular sexual harassment'
- un.org
- foxnews.com
- un.org – Larger Freedom
- un.org – Reform
See also
External links
Biographies, interviews, and profiles
- Official UN biography
- Nobel Peace Prize biography
- Kofi Annan – Nobel Lecture
- Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm Detailed PBS profile. Includes interactive biography and map of Annan's worldwide travels, among other things. Requires Flash.
- Kofi Annan: An Online News Hour Focus A compilation of information, interviews, and initiatives about and by Kofi Annan, by the website of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. From 1998-1999.
- Kofi Annan: Biographical Note Basic biography by Phyllis Bennis of the Global Policy Forum.
- One-on-one with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan October 1998 interview of Kofi Annan by Kevin Chappell of Ebony.
- Prominent People - Kofi Annan
- Annan Article in Saga Magazine
- Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) Conference Center: UN Security Council Retreat Kofi Annan and fifteen representatives of the States members of the UN Security Council meet at the Pocantico Conference Center in 2005 for the seventh annual “Security Council retreat”, convened by the Secretary-General.
Speeches
News
- Norm Coleman, The Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2004, "Kofi Annan Must Go: It's time for the secretary-general to resign"
- Colum Lynch, The Washington Post, April 24, 2005, "U.N. Chief's Record Comes Under Fire"
- Ian Williams, The Guardian, 20 September 2005, "Annan has paid his dues: The UN declaration of a right to protect people from their governments is a millennial change"
Other
| Preceded byBoutros Boutros-Ghali | United Nations Secretary-General 1997–2006 |
Succeeded byBan Ki-moon |
| Secretaries-general of the League of Nations and the United Nations | ||
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| League of Nations (1919–1945) |
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| United Nations (since 1945) |
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| Related | ||
| Provisional Secretary-General prior to the election of Trygve Lie. | ||
- Ghanaian people
- UN Secretaries-General
- International relations
- Nobel Peace Prize laureates
- Ghanaian diplomats
- Ghanaian economists
- Ghanaian politicians
- Pan Am Flight 103
- United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal
- Sloan Fellows
- Humanitarians
- Globalization
- Rockefeller family
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
- MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
- Junior Chamber International
- Fraternal twins
- 1938 births
- Living people