Legacy of H.E Kofi Annan on the World Stage

By Justice Dzido On Aug 18, 2018

Kofi Annan was born into an aristocratic family in Ghana on April 8, 1938, Kumasi to be precise. He attended a number of schools and colleges, studying international relations in the United States and Switzerland.

Mr. Annan was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was appointed as the Secretary-General on 13 December 1996 by the Security Council, and later confirmed by the General Assembly, making him the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself.

He was re-elected for a second term in 2001, and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007.

5 times Kofi Annan put Ghana on the world map

1. Kofi Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who was the first to emerge from the ranks of the United Nations (UN) staff to serve as the Secretary-General of the UN. He served as the seventh UN Secretary-General from 1997 to 2006.

2. In 1998, Kofi Annan appointed a lady, Louise Frechette of Canada, as the first deputy secretary-general in an attempt to bring about more gender equality within the UN system.

3. In February 2012, Kofi Annan was appointed as the joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria in an attempt to deal with the ongoing conflicts there.

4. Kofi Annan viewed the HIV/AIDS pandemic as his “personal priority”, and in April 2001, issued a “Call to Action”, proposing the establishment of a Global AIDS and Health Fund to help developing countries deal with the crisis.

5. Kofi Annan served as the Chair of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security. The Commission was established in May 2011 as a joint initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. It comprised 12 eminent individuals from around the world, including Ernesto Zedillo, Martti Ahtisaari, Madeleine Albright and Amartya Sen, and aimed to highlight the importance of the integrity of elections to achieving a more secure, prosperous and stable world. The Commission released its final report: Democracy, a Strategy to Improve the Integrity of Elections Worldwide, in September 2012.