15 things to know about Kofi Annan

• Posted on August 20, 2018
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Former United Nation’s Secretary-General, Kofi Annan passed away on Saturday at the age of 80 after a short illness.

Kofi Annan died at a Hospital in the Swiss city of Bern.

Reports indicate that Kofi Annan was hospitalized in Geneva and later airlifted to the Swiss capital, Bern where he died.

A statement from his foundation said, “His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days.”

Several tributes have poured in from every part of the world for late Annan for the vital role he played for world peace.

Below are 15 things to know about late Kofi Annan:

1. Kofi Annan was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations. His term began on 1 January 1997
2. He joined the UN system in 1962 as an administrative and budget officer with the WHO in Geneva.
3. He served with the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa
4. He served on the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) in Ismailia
5. He served at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva
6. He also served at UN Headquarters in New York, as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management and Security Coordinator for the UN System
7. He was also the Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget, and Finance
8. In 1990, he also undertook a special assignment, to facilitate the repatriation of more than 900 international staff and the release of Western hostages in Iraq
9. He also led the first United Nations team negotiating with Iraq on the sale of oil to fund purchases of humanitarian aid
10. Before being appointed Secretary-General, Mr. Annan served as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations (March 1993 – February 1994) and then as Under-Secretary-General (February 1994 – October 1995; April 1996 – December 1996)
11. He was a former Chancellor of the University of Ghana
12. He studied at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A., in 1961
13. From 1961 to 1962, he undertook graduate studies in economics at the Institut Universitaire des Hautes études Internationales in Geneva.
14. In 2001, he and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Kofi Annan was praised for being “pre-eminent in bringing new life to the organization.” (Norwegian Nobel Committee, October 2001)
15. He was married to Nane Annan, of Sweden. They had three children.