The United Nations was created in 1945 and on the path of development all this time remained the guarantor of peace and stability. Sometimes her role was somewhat weakened, and in some periods again gained strength. As the head of the international organization, one could see diplomats from many countries of the world. The first representative of the black African population was Kofi Annan.
short biography
Annan Kofi Atta is a native of Kumashi in Ghana. Previously, it was a colony of Great Britain Gold Coast. His father is the leader of the Fanti tribe. The people of this tribe inhabit Ghana and totals about two million people. The future UN Secretary General studied in the United States, and then at the Geneva Institute for International Studies (Switzerland), after which he received a position in the UN as a health officer from the World Health Organization.
He was married twice, currently his wife is a citizen of Sweden, Nane Annan. Reliably known information that the son of Annan, Kojo, collaborated with his father on some issues.
As head of the UN
Mr. Annan did not immediately take the place of the head of such an influential organization. The representative of Egypt, Boutros-Ghali, was running for this place, and his first term in office was ending. The US vetoed his candidacy, considering it unpopular. Thus, Annan Kofi was elected to such a high post. This situation had an absolutely political context: Boutros-Ghali opposed the bombing by NATO forces during the Bosnian war, and the United States needed a different, more loyal representative of the organization.
As head of the UN, Kofi Annan became famous as a reformer. Despite the fact that the transformation could not be fully carried out, considerable attempts were made. The reason for the reforms, he called the inefficiency of the organization. It was proposed to reduce the number of its employees, workflow and the secretariat. However, all these plans remained to exist only on paper.
Talk about the Organization’s inefficiency was heard on the sidelines of Headquarters back in the 90s, some world leaders began to openly express this opinion at sessions of the General Assembly. Some political scientists talk about Annan’s responsibility for disseminating these thoughts in people's minds.
Personal life of a diplomat
Annan Kofi was married twice. His first wife was a citizen of Nigeria, Titilola Alakija. In 1981, they decided to break their alliance. Annan has two children left from this marriage. The second wife of the diplomat was the Swede Nane Maria Lagergren. She is a lawyer by profession. Since 1983, she has been working in the United States at the UN headquarters, where she is involved in environmental, poverty and other millennium issues.
From her first marriage, Nana has a daughter. Kofi Annan's wife is quite famous in Sweden, and after her husband took up the post of UN Secretary General, she showed herself as a fighter for the freedoms and rights of citizens around the world. It is noteworthy that she is the niece of Raoul Wallenberg, a well-known diplomat in Sweden, according to one version of the tens of thousands of Jews who saved the lives of the Holocaust in Hungary.
Annan Prizes and Awards
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has been awarded various orders and prizes. Among them is the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.
- In South Africa, he was awarded the highest state award - the Order of Good Hope for his contribution to the development of cooperation with South Africa.
- In 2002, he was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine - the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise for his personal contribution to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the international community.
- In the same 2002, the diplomat was awarded the Gorchakov commemorative medal from the Russian Foreign Ministry. This is the highest award of the Ministry, established in honor of the 200th anniversary of the State Chancellor and His Grace Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov.
- Kazakhstan presented Mr. Annan with the Order of Dostyk of the first degree. Translated from Kazakh, "Dostyk" means "friendship."
- The Republic of Kyrgyzstan awarded the diplomat with the Order of Manas of the first degree. This is the highest state award.
- He was also awarded Olof Palme, who is awarded for achievements in the field of human rights in Sweden.
- In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the renewal of the UN. In fact, the prize was awarded for trying to rehabilitate the organization and renew it.
Kofi Annan was or was not worthy of her; nevertheless, the prize went to him not for empty words, but for a significant contribution to the work of the United Nations.
Sayings of Annan
His toughest statements were related to the idea of reforming the UN. Here’s one of them: “Under the current conditions, responsibility between states is distributed very unevenly. Poor and weak states are easy to call to account because they need foreign assistance. However, large and strong states, whose actions have the greatest impact on others, can restrain themselves actions only by their own people, acting through their domestic institutions. "
Many politicians agree with Annan’s opinion, but most of them believe that reforming the UN will not produce the results that the Secretary General has sought. Moreover, there are skeptics who believe that the activities of the Secretary-General at the post and his statements after leaving are radically different. This, for example, concerns the NATO military operation in Iraq, which began in 2003. At this time, the UN Secretary General was engaged exclusively in humanitarian issues and did not try to prevent the invasion, based, as it turned out in 2004, on falsified US data on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. In 2015, Annan will declare in Munich that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake and, in general, contributed to the creation of the Daesh terrorist base on its territory.
Scandals
While still at the UN post, Annan faced a series of scandals. One of them could cost the Secretary General of the post, but nothing happened. Annan oversaw the United Nations international oil-for-food program, a contract for the execution of which was given to Cotecna. In 2004, the press reported that Cotecna’s son, Secretary General Kojo Annan, received money from the company. Kofi Annan denied these allegations, calling them outrageous. The investigation did not prove the company's connection with the family of the Secretary General, but the news stained his reputation, and therefore he was even invited to resign.
Another scandal was also associated with 2004. It turned out that the British intelligence MI-6 secretly wiretap Annan.
After leaving the post of head of the UN, Annan until 2012 worked under the roof of the organization as a goodwill ambassador on various issues. The vast experience of diplomatic work helps him today.
Interesting Facts
The people of Fanti, to which Annan belongs, are considered to be black and white in Ghana. This is due to the education of many representatives of the tribe and the passion for education.
The name "Kofi" is translated from the tribal language as "born on Friday." This is an ancient tradition of the people.
Mr. Annan himself looks very similar to the famous American actor Morgan Freeman. They are often confused by passers-by on the street, which both have long been accustomed to.
Annan's nephew stands for Ghana's football team under the name Anthony Annan. He also plays for the Norwegian club Stabk.
"The world has changed"
After Kofi Annan left his high post, he continued to express the idea that not only the UN, but also the Security Council should be reformed. Thus, in an interview with The Guardian, Annan said that the permanent members of the UN Security Council should take up the process of including other permanent members. By the way, he noted that neither the United States nor Russia showed interest in this topic.
He expressed this opinion for the first time in 2004, after which a “battle” unfolded between countries for the post of permanent representative. All the permanent members of the UN Security Council then voted against the resolution on enlargement, despite Annan's words that we should change along with a world that has already changed.
Negotiations to resolve the crisis in Syria
One of the first negotiators to resolve the Syrian issue was Kofi Annan. His biography allowed him to become not only a representative of the UN on this issue, but also to go much further. However, he did not succeed in this post, possibly due to the fact that the conflict itself was then in limbo.
Today we are watching how Steffan de Mistura deals with this issue in Geneva. Negotiations are very difficult, and few people believe in their positive outcome. Today, we, like Mr. Annan, can only hope for a normalization of relations in a world that is on the verge of more and more conflicts.