THE DEATH OF AN ICONIC DIPLOMAT

Aug 21, 2018 Editorial

Leaders around the world were shocked at the death of former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General and Nobel Laureate, Kofi Annan after a short illness. He was 80 years old. Annan is survived by his wife, three children and two siblings.
The late Kofi Annan was one of the world’s most celebrated, consummate and graceful international diplomats who rose through the ranks at the UN and became the first black person from Sub-Saharan Africa to be elected to the Secretary-General of the world’s foremost international organization.
Tributes poured in from a number of former and present world leaders including former President Barack Obama who said: “Kofi Annan was a diplomat and humanitarian who embodied the mission of the United Nations like few others. His integrity, persistence, optimism, and sense of our common humanity always informed his outreach to the community of nations.”
Twice married, Annan was born into an aristocrat family in the city of Kumasi in what was then the Gold Coast but in 1957, became Ghana, the first African country to achieve independence from Britain. A graduate in economics from Macalester College in Geneva and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Annan spent most of his working life in the corridors and conference rooms of the UN.
His first appointment was at the UN World Health Organization in Geneva in 1962 and then in Ethiopia with the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa before returning to the UN European headquarters. In the 1970s, Annan returned to the UN headquarters in New York in senior human resources and budgetary positions, and, in the early 1990s, was appointed as deputy and then as head of UN peacekeeping operations around the world.
The soft-spoken diplomat became the seventh Secretary-General of the UN and served for two consecutive terms from Jan. 1, 1997 to Dec. 31, 2006, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. He was the first Secretary-General to be chosen from the international civil servants who make up the UN bureaucracy. During his tenure as head of the UN, Annan projected himself and the organization as the world’s conscience and moral arbiter despite some bloody battles that left indelible stains on the UN record as peacekeeper
An emblem as much of the UN’s success in peacekeeping, Annan was credited with revitalizing the traditional peace and humanitarian intervention process of the organization. He also persuaded the United States not to withhold financial support to the UN because of the profound misgivings about the organization voiced by some conservative members of Congress. The Secretary-General also championed efforts to try to end the protracted conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
His grandest success, included the reforming of the UN bureaucracy; reducing HIV, especially in Africa; and the launching of the UN Global Compact Initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies to protect the environment, labour, and human rights.
His tenure as Secretary General was one of the most turbulent periods since the founding of the UN in 1945.The leadership of the world’s foremost diplomat saw the rise of Islamic militancy worldwide, the destruction of the twin-towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington by Al Qaeda in 2001 and the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003, which he called illegal.
Annan was hamstrung by the inherent flaw of his position, other than persuasion, he was a figure of moral authority who was bereft of the means to enforce the high standards he articulated.

Despite these setbacks, Annan commanded the world stage with ease in his impeccably tailored suits, goatee beard and slight physique—attributes that made him a global voice. He seemed to radiate an aura of probity and authority. In addition to his charm, there was the authority that came from experience. Few people have spent as much time as Annan negotiating tables with thugs, warlords and dictators. He was the world’s emissary to the dark side.

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