Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan
7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
In office 1 January 1997 – 31 December 2006
Deputy	Louise Fréchette Mark Malloch Brown
Preceded by	Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Succeeded by	Ban Ki-moon
United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria
In office 23 February 2012 – 31 August 2012
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon (UN) Nabil Elaraby (AL)
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Lakhdar Brahimi
Personal details
Born	(1938-04-08) 8 April 1938 Comassie, Gold Coast (now Kumasi, Ghana)
Nationality	Ghanaian
Spouse(s)	Titi Alakija (1965–late 1970s) Nane Lagergren (1984–present)
Relations	Anthony Gildas Kofi Annan
Children	Kojo Ama Nina
Alma mater	Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Macalester College Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, University of Geneva Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Religion	Protestantism
Signature

Kofi Atta Annan (born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He is the Chairman of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela.

From February until August 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution to ongoing conflict there. Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN's lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution, stating that "when the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council".

Early years and education

Kofi Annan was born in the Kofandros section of Kumasi in the Gold Coast on 8 April 1938. His twin sister Efua Ataa, who died in 1991, shared the middle name Atta, which in the Akan means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's Ashanti and Fante aristocratic families; both of their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.

In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, and/or in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday.

Pronunciation: Annan has said his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan has said that the school taught him "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere". In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from Britain and began using the name "Ghana".

In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, in 1961. Annan then completed a diplôme d'études approfondies DEA degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management (1971–72) in the Sloan Fellows program and earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree.

Annan is fluent in English, French, Akan, some Kru languages and other African languages.

Early career

In 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations (UN). From 1974 to 1976, he worked as the Director of Tourism in Ghana. In the late 1980s, Annan returned to work for the UN, where he was appointed as an Assistant Secretary-General in three consecutive positions: Human Resources, Management and Security Coordinator (1987–1990); Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Controller (1990–1992); and Peacekeeping Operations (March 1993 – December 1996).

The Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 while Annan directed UN Peacekeeping Operations. In 2003 Canadian ex-General Roméo Dallaire, who was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003), General Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict, and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to provide responses to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered Tutsis. In 2004, ten years after the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said, "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."

Annan served as Under-Secretary-General from March 1994 to October 1995. He was appointed a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, serving for five months before returning to his duties as Under-Secretary-General in April 1996.

Secretary-General of the United Nations

Appointment

On 13 December 1996, the United Nations Security Council recommended Annan to replace the previous Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, whose second term faced the veto of the United States. Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly, he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.

Activities

Annan with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 16 November 2001.

In April 2001, Annan issued a five-point "Call to Action" to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Stating it was a "personal priority", Annan proposed a Global AIDS and Health Fund to stimulate the increased international spending needed to help developing countries confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. On 10 December 2001, Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world".

In the years after 1998 when UNSCOM was kicked out by the government of Saddam Hussein and during the Iraq disarmament crisis, in which the United States blamed UNSCOM and former IAEA director Hans Blix for failing to properly disarm Iraq, Scott Ritter the former UNSCOM chief weapons inspector, blamed Annan for being slow and ineffective in enforcing Security Council resolutions on Iraq and was overtly submissive to the demands of the Clinton administration for regime removal and inspection of sites, often Presidential palaces, that were not mandated in any resolution and were of questionable intelligence value, which severely hampered UNSCOM's ability to cooperate with the Iraqi government and contributed to their expulsion from the country. Ritter also claimed that Annan regularly interfered with the work of the inspectors and diluted the chain of command by trying to micromanage all of the activities of UNSCOM, which caused intelligence processing (and the resulting inspections) to be backed up and caused confusion with the Iraqis as to who was in charge and as a result, they generally refused to take orders from Ritter or Rolf Ekéus without explicit approval from Annan, which could have taken days, if not weeks. He later believed that Annan was oblivious to the fact the Iraqis took advantage of this in order to delay inspections. He claimed that on one occasion, Annan refused to implement a no-notice inspection of the SSO headquarters and instead tried to negotiate access, but the negotiation ended up taking nearly six weeks, giving the Iraqis more than enough time to clean out the site.

During the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Annan called on the United States and the United Kingdom not to invade without the support of the United Nations. In a September 2004 interview on the BBC, when questioned about the legal authority for the invasion, Annan said he believed it was not in conformity with the UN charter and was illegal.

Annan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disagreed sharply on Iran's nuclear program, on an Iranian exhibition of cartoons mocking the Holocaust, and on the then upcoming International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, an Iranian Holocaust denial conference in 2006. During a visit to Iran instigated by continued Iranian uranium enrichment, Annan said "I think the tragedy of the Holocaust is an undeniable historical fact and we should really accept that fact and teach people what happened in World War II and ensure it is never repeated."

Annan supported sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan. He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one. Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on women's rights and other topics.

Beginning in 1998, Annan convened an annual UN "Security Council Retreat" with the 15 States' representatives of the Council. It was held at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) Conference Center at the Rockefeller family estate at Pocantico, and was sponsored by both the RBF and the UN.

Nobel Peace Prize

In 2001, its centennial year, the Nobel Committee decided that the Peace Prize was to be divided between the United Nations (UN) and Kofi Annan. Annan was awarded the Peace Prize for having revitalized the UN and for having given priority to human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognized his commitment to the struggle to contain the spreading of the HIV virus in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.

Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT

On 9 December 2003, Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT was established, through a partnership between the Government of Ghana and the Government of India, and named after Annan in his honor.

Lubbers sexual-harassment investigation

In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the complaint brought by four women workers against Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees for sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation. The report also reviewed a long-serving staff member's allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Werner Blatter, Director of UNHCR Personnel. The investigation found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment; no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official, or two subsequent complaints filed later that year. In the course of the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter which some considered was a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges. On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally. His decision held until November 2004. When the OIOS issued its annual report to the UN General Assembly, it stated that it had found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment. These events were widely reported and weakened Annan's influence.

On 17 November 2004, Annan accepted an OIOS report clearing Dileep Nair, UN Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, of political corruption and sexual harassment charges. Some UN staff in New York disagreed with this conclusion, leading to extended debate on 19 November.

The internal UN-OIOS report on Lubbers was leaked, and sections accompanied by an article by Kate Holt were published in a British newspaper. In February 2005, he resigned as head of the UN refugee agency. Lubbers said he wanted to relieve political pressure on Annan.

Oil-for-Food scandal

In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son Kojo Annan received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations.

Annan appointed the Independent Inquiry Committee, which was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, then the director of the United Nations Association of the US. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied having had a meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry, he recalled that he had met with Cotecna's chief executive Elie-Georges Massey twice. In a final report issued on 27 October, the committee found insufficient evidence to indict Kofi Annan on any illegal actions, but did find fault with Benon Sevan, a Cypriot national who had worked for the UN for about 40 years. Appointed by Annan to the Oil-For-Food role, Sevan repeatedly asked Iraqis for allocations of oil to the African Middle East Petroleum Company. Sevan's behavior was "ethically improper", Volcker said to reporters. Sevan repeatedly denied the charges and argued that he was being made a "scapegoat". The Volcker report was highly critical of the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new position be established of Chief Operating Officer (COO), to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities than under the Secretary General's office. The report listed the companies, both Western and Middle Eastern, that benefited illegally from the program.

Relations between the United States and the United Nations

Kofi Annan supported his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, who openly criticized the United States in a speech on 6 June 2006: "[T]he prevailing practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another. [...] [That] the US is constructively engaged with the UN [...] is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News." Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer."

The talk was unusual because it violated unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticize member nations. The interim U.S. ambassador John R. Bolton, appointed by President George W. Bush, was reported to have told Annan on the phone: "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen in that entire time." Observers from other nations supported Malloch's view that conservative politicians in the US prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of US involvement in the UN.

UN Resolution 61/225: World Diabetes Day

Kofi Annan witnessed the United Nations General Assembly's passage of UN Resolution 61/225, to establish World Diabetes Day. The Resolution was the second UN General Assembly Resolution on a health-related issue (the other being HIV/AIDS). Resolution 61/225 is the only Health-related UN Resolution to pass by consensus. Sponsored by the Republic of South Africa and Bangladesh, the Resolution was passed on 20 December 2006.

Farewell addresses

On 19 September 2006, Annan gave a farewell address to world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters in New York, in anticipation of his retirement on 31 December. In the speech he outlined three major problems of "an unjust world economy, world disorder, and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law", which he believes "have not resolved, but sharpened" during his time as Secretary-General. He also pointed to violence in Africa, and the Arab-Israeli conflict as two major issues warranting attention.

On 11 December 2006, in his final speech as Secretary-General, delivered at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, Annan recalled Truman's leadership in the founding of the United Nations. He called for the United States to return to President Truman's multilateralist foreign policies, and to follow Truman's credo that "the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world". He also said that the United States must maintain its commitment to human rights, "including in the struggle against terrorism."

Recommendations for UN reform

Silk carpet portrait of Kofi Annan at the UN headquarters

Soon after taking office in 1997, Annan released two reports on management reform. On 17 March 1997, the report ‘Management and Organisational Measures’ (A/51/829) introduced new management mechanisms through the establishment of a cabinet-style body to assist him and be grouping the UN’s activities in accordance with four core missions. A comprehensive reform agenda was issued on 14 July 1997 entitled ‘Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform’ (A/51/950). Key proposals included the introduction of strategic management to strengthen unity of purpose, the establishment of the position of Deputy Secretary-General, a 10-percent reduction in posts, a reduction in administrative costs, the consolidation of the UN at the country level, and reaching out to civil society and the private sector as partners. Annan also proposed to hold a Millennium Summit in 2000. After years of research, Annan presented a progress report, In Larger Freedom, to the UN General Assembly, on 21 March 2005. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other UN reforms.

On 31 January 2006, Kofi Annan outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN in a policy speech to the United Nations Association UK. The speech, delivered at Central Hall, Westminster, also marked the 60th Anniversary of the first meetings of the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.

On 7 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled: "Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide".

On 30 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his analysis and recommendations for updating the entire work programme of the United Nations Secretariat over the last 60 years. The report is entitled: "Mandating and Delivering: Analysis and Recommendations to Facilitate the Review of Mandates".

Regarding the UN Human Rights Council, Annan has said "declining credibility" had "cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system. Unless we re-make our human rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself." However, he does believe that, despite its flaws, the council can do good.

Post-UN career

Annan with John Kufuor, the 10th President of Ghana, at the 2013 Africa Progress Panel on 28 November 2013.

Upon his return to Ghana, Annan was immediately suggested as a candidate to become the country's next President.

He has become involved with several organizations with both global and African focuses. In 2007, Annan was named chairman of the prize committee for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, was chosen to lead the new formation of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), was appointed president of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, and was selected for the MacArthur Foundation Award for International Justice.

Annan serves as Chair of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues. In November 2008, Annan and fellow Elders Jimmy Carter and Graça Machel attempted to travel to Zimbabwe to make a first-hand assessment of the humanitarian situation in the country. Refused entry, the Elders instead carried out their assessment from Johannesburg, where they met Zimbabwe- and South Africa-based leaders from politics, business, international organisations and civil society. In May 2011, following months of political violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Annan travelled to the country with Elders Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson to encourage national reconciliation.

In the beginning of 2008, as head of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, Annan participated in the negotiations to end the civil unrest in Kenya. He threatened to leave the negotiations as mediator if a quick decision was not made. On 26 February 2008 he suspended talks to end Kenya's violent post-election crisis. On 28 February, Annan managed to have President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga sign a coalition government agreement and was widely lauded by many Kenyans for this landmark achievement. That was the best deal achieved then under the mediation efforts.

Annan is a member of the Club of Madrid. Annan currently serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion USD gift to support UN causes. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN.

Annan chairs the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. Every year, the Panel releases a report, the Africa Progress Report, that outlines an issue of immediate importance to the continent and suggests a set of associated policies. In 2012, the Africa Progress Report highlighted issues of Jobs, Justice, and Equity. The 2013 report will outline issues relating to oil, gas, and mining in Africa.

Kofi Annan was appointed the Chancellor of the University of Ghana in 2008.

In May 2009 Columbia University announced that Annan will join a new program being launched by Dean John Coatsworth at the School of International and Public Affairs as one of the first group of Global Fellows. The Global Fellows program will bring students together with global practitioners to share firsthand knowledge of experiences in the life of an international or public figure. He is also a fellow of The Committee on Global Thought appointed by the University.

On 2 September 2009, Annan was unveiled as the first Li Ka Shing Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The announcement was made during the school's 5th anniversary celebrations.

On 7 October 2010, Annan was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Global Center for Pluralism, Canada’s new international research and education center dedicated to the study and practice of pluralism worldwide. The Global Center for Pluralism is an initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan in partnership with the Government of Canada. The Center is located at 330 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Canada. Dedicated to the creation of successful societies, the Center is founded on the premise that tolerance, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other peoples are essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development.

A member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee when former French president Jacques Chirac launched it in 2008, Kofi Annan participates as jury member for the Prize for Conflict Prevention awarded every year by this foundation. He also created the Kofi Annan Foundation dedicated to sustainable development and peace.

Work in Syria

Main article: Kofi Annan peace plan for Syria

On 23 February 2012, Annan was appointed as the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, in an attempt to end the civil war taking place. He developed a six-point plan for peace:

1. commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people, and, to this end, commit to appoint an empowered interlocutor when invited to do so by the Envoy;
2. commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilise the country.

   To this end, the Syrian government should immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres.

   As these actions are being taken on the ground, the Syrian government should work with the Envoy to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism.

   Similar commitments would be sought by the Envoy from the opposition and all relevant elements to stop the fighting and work with him to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism;

3. ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and to this end, as immediate steps, to accept and implement a daily two hour humanitarian pause and to coordinate exact time and modalities of the daily pause through an efficient mechanism, including at local level;
4. intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable categories of persons, and persons involved in peaceful political activities, provide without delay through appropriate channels a list of all places in which such persons are being detained, immediately begin organizing access to such locations and through appropriate channels respond promptly to all written requests for information, access or release regarding such persons;
5. ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;
6. respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

On 2 August, he resigned as U.N. and Arab League joint special envoy to Syria, citing the intransigence of both the Assad government and the rebels, as well as the stalemate on the Security Council as preventing any peaceful resolution of the situation. He also stated that the lack of international unity and ineffective diplomacy among the world leaders has made the peaceful resolution in Syria an impossible task.

Memoir

On 4 September 2012, Annan published his memoir, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace, written with Nader Mousavizadeh, ISBN 978-159420420-3. The book is described as a personal biography of so-called global statecraft.

Personal life

In 1965 Kofi Annan married Titi Alakija, a Nigerian woman from a well-to-do family. Several years later they had a daughter, Ama, and later a son, Kojo. The couple separated in the late 1970s. In 1984, Annan married Nane Lagergren, a Swedish lawyer at the U.N. and the granddaughter of Raoul Wallenberg.

Honours and awards

Annan at the 2013 Africa Progress Panel

Honours

2000: Companion of the Order of the Star of Ghana

2000: Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

2001: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania

2005: Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty (Portugal)

2006: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

2007: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria

2007: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) from Queen Elizabeth II (UK)

2008: Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Awards

2000: Kora All Africa Music Awards in the category of Lifetime Achievement

2001: Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Peace Prize, jointly presented to Kofi Annan and the United Nations

2002: winner of the "Profiles in Courage Award", given by the JFK Memorial Museum

2002: The American Whig-Cliosophic Society James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service.

2003: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

2003: Freedom Prize of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation at the University of St. Gallen

2006: International World Order of Culture, Science and Education, Award of the European Academy of Informatization, Belgium

2006: Inter Press Service, International Achievement Award for Annan's lasting contributions to peace, security, and development

2006: Olof Palme Prize

2007: Wooden Crossbow, special award from the Swiss World Economic Forum

2007: People in Europe Award of Verlagsgruppe Passau

2007: MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Award for International Justice

2007: North-South Prize of the Council of Europe

2008: Peace of Westphalia Prize

2008: Harvard University Honors Prize

2008: Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize

2008: Peace of Westphalia Prize – Münster (Westfalen)

2008: Open Society Award – CEU Business School Budapest

2011: Gothenburg Award

2012: Confucius Peace Prize

Honorary degrees

• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (Kumasi), Honorary Doctor of Science, 24 August 1998
• United Nations Mandated University for Peace, Honorary President, 1999
• Lund University, Honorary Doctor of Law, 1999
• National University of Ireland, Doctor of Law, 22 January 1999
• Technische Universität Dresden, doctor honoris causa, 27 April 1999
• Howard University, honorary doctorate of humane letters, 8 May 1999
• Comenius University in Bratislava, doctor honoris causa, 15 June 1999
• University of Notre Dame, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, 21 May 2000
• Seton Hall University, John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Honorary Doctorate, February 2001
• Brown University, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2001
• Liberty Medal International Selection Commission, Liberty Medal, 4 July 2001
• Free University of Berlin, doctor honoris causa, 13 July 2001
• Tilburg University, Honorary Doctorate, 2002
• University of Alcalá, Doctor Honoris Causa, 9 April 2002
• Northwestern University, Doctor of Laws, 21 June 2002
• University of Pittsburgh, honorary Doctor of Public and International Affairs degree 21 October 2003
• Ghent University (Belgium), doctor honoris causa 21 March 2003
• Carleton University, Legum Doctor, honoris causa, 9 March 2004
• University of Ottawa, Doctor of the University Degree, 9 March 2004
• University of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 16 May 2005
• Universidade Nova de Lisboa, doctor honoris causa, 12 October 2005
• The George Washington University, Doctor of Public Service, 5 May 2006
• University of Tokyo, Honorary Doctorate, 18 May 2006
• Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, 30 October 2006
• University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Max Schmidheiny Foundation Freedom Prize (originally awarded 2003, but postponed due to Annan's illness), 18 November 2006
• Princeton University, Crystal Tiger Award, 28 November 2006
• Uppsala University, receiver of the Uppsala University Linnaeus Medal in gold, 23 May 2007, and doctor honoris causa 26 May 2007
• King's College London, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2008
• University of Neuchâtel, Honorary Doctorate, 1 November 2008
• Glasgow Caledonian University, Doctor of Laws, 18 November 2011

See also

• Arab Spring
• Black Nobel Prize laureates
• Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana
• Seoul Peace Prize
• Tajik Civil War

External links

Biographies, interviews, and profiles

• Official UN biography as former SG
• UN envoy for Syria
• Nobel Peace Prize biography
• Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm Detailed PBS profile. Includes interactive biography and map of Annan's worldwide travels, among other things. Requires Flash.
• Kofi Annan: An Online News Hour Focus A compilation of information, interviews, and initiatives about and by Kofi Annan, by the website of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. From 1998–1999.
• Kofi Annan, President, Global Humanitarian Forum Geneva
• Kofi Annan: Biographical Note Basic biography by Phyllis Bennis of the Global Policy Forum.
• One-on-one with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan October 1998 interview of Kofi Annan by Kevin Chappell of Ebony.
• Annan Article in Saga Magazine
• Short Biography at the Africa Progress Panel website

Articles

• Ian Williams, The Guardian, 20 September 2005, "Annan has paid his dues: The UN declaration of a right to protect people from their governments is a millennial change"
• Annan, Kofi A. "Lessons from the U.N. leader" The Washington Post, 12 December 2006
• "Kofi and U.N. Ideals" The Wall Street Journal, 14 December 2006
• Colum Lynch, The Washington Post, 24 April 2005, "U.N. Chief's Record Comes Under Fire"
• "Oil-for-food memo raises questions for Annan" – CNN
• The Annan Plan: full text and additional information from the United Nations

Speeches

• Statements of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
• Nobel Peace Prize lecture

Lectures

• The MacArthur Award for International Justice, 2008 in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Boutros Boutros-Ghali	Secretary-General of the United Nations 1997–2006	Succeeded by Ban Ki-moon
New office	United Nations and Arab League Envoy to Syria 2012	Succeeded by Lakhdar Brahimi