Kofi Annan
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| Kofi Atta Annan | |
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| In office January 1, 1997 – January 1, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Boutros Boutros-Ghali |
| Succeeded by | Ban Ki-moon |
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| Born | April 8, 1938 Kumasi, Ghana |
| Nationality | ghanaian |
| Spouse | Titi Alakija (div.) Nane Maria Annan |
Kofi Annan (born April 8 1938 in Ghana) was the Secretary-General of the United Nations. His term began in January 1, 1997 and ended on January 1 2007. He was replaced by Ban Ki-moon.
[change] Life
The United Nations is where all member countries meet to talk about things with each other, to prevent wars. Annan has been Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1997. The Secretary-General is like the president of the United Nations.
Annan was born on April 8, 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, to an elite family. His parents, Henry Reginald and Victoria Annan, are from the two major ethnic groups that make up the Akan -- one of the groups of indigenous people of Ghana.
His father was half Asante and half Fante; his mother was Fante. The Asante were gold merchants while the Fante tribe were the middlemen in the gold trade between the Asante and the British.
Annan, whose first name means "born on a Friday," also had a twin sister, who died in 1991 from a still yet unknown disease. In Ghanaian culture, twins are considered special and are adored.
Annan probably got his first lessons in politics and diplomacy early on from his family. Both of Annan's grandfathers and his uncle were tribal chiefs. Upon his retirement, Annan's father, who worked as an export manager for the cocoa exporter Lever Brothers, was elected governor of Ghana's Asante province.
In 1954, Annan attended Mfantsipim School, an elite Methodist boarding school in central Ghana established under British rule. The Secretary-General credits the school with teaching him "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere." At Mfantsipim, Annan led the student body in a hunger strike to get better food from the school cafeteria. It was a success.
In the early 1950s, while Annan was at boarding school, Ghana was undergoing radical changes. Under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah, a movement for independence was gaining ground and by 1957 Ghana had become the first British African colony to gain independence. "It was an exciting period," Annan told The New York Times, "People of my generation, having seen the changes that took place in Ghana, grew up thinking all was possible."
[change] His works at United Nations
Annan became Secretary-General of the United Nations in January of 1997, succeeding Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt. Annan was a U.N. veteran who took his first job with the organization in 1962 and worked his way up through various posts including Deputy Director to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (1980-83) and head of the U.N.'s peacekeeping efforts (1995-96). Annan was the first Secretary-General chosen from the ranks of the U.N.'s staff. He is also the first black man to hold the post and the second African (after Boutros-Ghali). In 2001 he and the United Nations were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their ongoing work in global peace and cooperation. His second term began in 2002 and runs through the end of 2006.
Extra credit: Annan attended Macalaster College in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating in 1961... He was a Sloan Fellow at MIT in 1971-72, receiving a master's degree in management... His wife Nane Annan, a lawyer and artist, is from Sweden...
[change] Previous Secretaries-General
- Trygve Lie (Norway), 1946-52;
- Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden), 1953-61;
- U Thant (Myanmar, formerly Burma), 1961-71;
- Kurt Waldheim (Austria), 1972-81;
- Javier de Perez de Cuellar (Peru), 1982-91;
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt), 1992-96.
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Gladwyn Jebb (United Kingdom) • Trygve Lie (Norway) • Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden) • U Thant (Burma) • Kurt Waldheim (Austria) |
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