 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
 |
 |
 |
Fulbright Association
1100 G Street, N.W.
Suite 525
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 347-5543
Fax: (202) 347-6540 |
|
 |
Biography of Kofi A. Annan |
| The seventh secretary-general of the United Nations and the first to be elected
from the ranks of United Nations staff, Kofi A. Annan began his term on January
1, 1997 . Mr. Annan’s priorities have been to revitalize the United Nations
through a comprehensive program of reform; to strengthen the organization’s
traditional work in the areas of development and the maintenance of
international peace and security; to encourage and advocate human rights, the
rule of law and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity;
and to restore public confidence in the organization by reaching out to new
partners and, in his words, by “bringing the United Nations closer to the
people.” |
| Born in Kumasi , Ghana , on April 8, 1938 , Mr. Annan studied at the University
of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his undergraduate work in
economics at Macalester College in St. Paul , Minn. From 1961 to 1962 he
studied at the Institut Universitaire des Hautes Études Internationales in
Geneva . As a 1971-72 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Mr. Annan received a master’s degree in management. |
| Mr. Annan began his career at the United Nations in 1962 with the World Health
Organization. Since then he has served with the UN Economic Commission for
Africa ; the UN Emergency Force; the Office of the High Commissioner for
Refugees; and at UN headquarters in New York . In 1990, following the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait , Mr. Annan was asked to facilitate the repatriation of
international staff and citizens of Western countries from Iraq . He
subsequently led the first UN team negotiating with Iraq on the sale of oil to
fund purchases of humanitarian aid. |
| Mr. Annan also served as assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations
and as under-secretary-general. From 1995 to 1996, following the D ayton Peace
Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina , he was the special
representative of the secretary-general to the former Yugoslavia .
As secretary-general, Mr. Annan’s first major initiative was his plan for
reform, “Renewing the United Nations,” with an emphasis on improving coherence
and coordination. He has used his office in several delicate political
situations. These include a mission in 1998 to help promote the transition to
civilian rule in Nigeria ; diplomacy in 1999 to forge an international response
to violence in East Timor ; the certification of Israel ’s withdrawal from
Lebanon in 2000, and further efforts, since the renewed outbreak of violence, to
encourage Israelis and Palestinians to resolve their differences through
peaceful negotiations. |
| He has also sought to improve the status of women in the secretariat and to
build closer partnerships with civil society, the private sector, and other
non-state actors. His 2000 Millennium Report, “We the Peoples: The Role of the
United Nations in the 21st Century,” called on member states to commit
themselves to an action plan for ending poverty and inequality, improving
education, reducing HIV/AI D S, safeguarding the environment, and protecting
peoples from deadly conflict and violence. |
| In April 2001, the secretary-general issued a “Call to Action” to address the
HIV/AI D S epidemic – which he described as his “personal priority” – and
proposed the establishment of a Global Aids and Health Fund to serve as a
mechanism for some of the increased spending needed to help developing countries
confront the crisis. |
| Mr. Annan is married to Nane Annan. They have three children. |
| See also: |
|
|
|
