1938-2018

Kofi Annan, the world respected Ghanaian diplomat and international civil servant was born in Kumasi, Ghana on the 8th of April 1938 with his twin sister Efua Atta Annan.  He was admitted in 1954 to Mfantsipim, an all-boys boarding school in Cape Coast.  The elite school was founded in the 1870s by the Methodist missionaries.  Annan said that his experiences in Mfantsipim taught him the lesson that “suffering anywhere, concerns people everywhere.”  He graduated from college in 1957.  That same year the Gold Coast gained its independence from the United Kingdom and the name Ghana was bestowed on the nation.

In 1958, Annan entered the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, to study economics.  A Ford Foundation grant took Annan to Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, US, where he completed his undergraduate degree in economics.  He moved on to the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961 to 1962 obtaining a diplôme d’études approfondies DEA degree in International Relations and Management from MIT.   His career began as a budget officer in 1962 with the World Health Organisation.

In 1974, Annan took a break from the United Nations working as the Managing Director of the Ghana Tourist Development Company, returning to the UN in 1976.   He served as the Under Secretary General for peacekeeping from March 1992 to December 1996. As the first black African United Nations Secretary General, Annan worked hard to promote development, peace, and human rights all over the world.  He was a key negotiator in peace agreements for several conflicts which included situations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Sierra Leone.  He was a strong advocate for issues around poverty, sustainable development, HIV/AIDS and climate change.

He was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 by the United Nations for his work in promoting peace and human rights. Even after his career with the UN he continued to push for peace and development, serving as the Chair of his foundation the Kofi Annan Foundation.   Annan passed away on the 18th of August 2018.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan