Historical Figure
Kofi Annan
1938–2018
UN Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006
Talk to Kofi Annan
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat and statesman who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.
In Their Own Words (5)
We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race. We all share the same basic values.
As quoted in Simply Living: The Spirit of the Indigenous People (1999) edited by Shirley A. Jones , 1999
I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time — without UN approval and much broader support from the international community.
"Iraq war illegal, says Annan" BBC News (16 September 2004); when asked if the invasion of Iraq was illegal, he replied "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal." , 2004
You have said that your first priority is the eradication of extreme poverty.
So spoke United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on September 8, 2000, to an assembly of the world’s most powerful men and women. WOL , 2000
He is very calm—very, very calm. Never raises his voice. Well-informed, contrary to the sense outside that he is ill-informed and isolated. And decisive.
On Saddam Hussein, Press conference (24 February 1998) , 1998
You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done.
Press conference regarding the use of force to gain compliance from Saddam Hussein (24 February 1998) , 1998
Timeline
The story of Kofi Annan, told in moments.
Born in Kumasi, Gold Coast, now Ghana. He has a twin sister named Efua. Both grandfathers and an uncle are Fante paramount chiefs. His middle name, Atta, means "twin" in Akan. Kofi means "Friday," the day he's born. He attends the elite Mfantsipim boarding school, where he says he learns that "suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere."
Joins the United Nations staff, working first for the WHO in Geneva. Over the next 30 years he rises through the bureaucracy. Manages peacekeeping operations during the Rwandan genocide and the Bosnian War. Both are catastrophic failures of the UN system. He later calls Rwanda his "greatest regret."
Becomes the seventh UN Secretary-General, the first from sub-Saharan Africa and the first elected from the UN staff itself. Reforms the bureaucracy. Launches the Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. Pushes HIV/AIDS to the top of the global agenda, especially in Africa.
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He later faces the Oil-for-Food scandal, which implicates his son Kojo. An independent investigation largely exonerates Kofi of personal corruption but finds management failures.
Appointed UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria. Produces a six-point peace plan. It fails. He resigns after five months, frustrated with the Security Council's paralysis. "I can't want peace more than the protagonists," he says.
Dies in Bern, Switzerland, at 80. Given a state funeral in Accra attended by heads of state from around the world. He founded the Kofi Annan Foundation to work on international development and conflict resolution. He also chaired The Elders, the group of independent leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.
More from the Interwar & WWII
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Kofi Annan's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.