Kofi Annan

Who is Kofi Annan?

Kofi Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, the first to be elected from within the ranks of UN staff. Born in Kumasi, he studied economics at Macalester College in the United States before pursuing graduate studies in Geneva and at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He joined the World Health Organization, a UN agency, in 1962 and spent much of his career rising through the United Nations system, including senior roles overseeing peacekeeping operations during the 1990s. As Secretary-General, he pushed reforms of the UN bureaucracy, championed the Millennium Development Goals, and worked to strengthen the organization's response to HIV/AIDS and humanitarian crises, while also facing scrutiny over the UN's limitations during crises such as the Rwandan genocide, which occurred while he headed peacekeeping. In 2001, he and the United Nations jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward a better organized and more peaceful world. After leaving office, he continued international mediation work, including chairing the panel that helped resolve Kenya's 2007-2008 post-election crisis, through the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Sources: Nobel Prize Committee, "Kofi Annan — Facts" (2001 Peace Prize) · United Nations, official biography of Kofi Annan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Kofi Annan"