Former UN chief and Nobel laureate Kofi Annan dies at 80
Former United Nations secretary general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan died Saturday after a short illness at the age of 80, his foundation announced.
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"It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations and Nobel Peace laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18 August after a short illness," the foundation said in a statement.
"His wife Nane and their children Ama, Kojo and Nina were by his side during his last days," it said.
Current UN chief Antonio Guterres voiced deep sadness at the news, describing his predecessor as "a guiding force for good".
The Ghanaian national, who lived in Switzerland, was a career diplomat who projected quiet charisma and is widely credited for raising the world body's profile in global politics during his two terms as UN chief, from 1997 to 2006. He was the first secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa.
Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced that the national flag will fly at half-mast at home and in the country's diplomatic missions across the world for one week in honour of "one of greatest compatriots".
Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with the UN in 2001 "for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world".
In his statement Saturday, Guterres said that "in many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations".
"He rose through the ranks to lead the organisation into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination," Guterres said.
"Like so many, I was proud to call Kofi Annan a good friend and mentor."
'Epitome of human decency'
"His warmth should never be mistaken for weakness. Annan showed that one can be a great humanitarian and a strong leader at the same time," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, said in a statement.
"The UN and the world have lost one of their giants," he said.
The UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was grief-stricken.
"Kofi was humanity's best example, the epitome of human decency and grace. In a world now filled with leaders who are anything but that, our loss, the world's loss becomes even more painful," he said.
"He was a friend to thousands and a leader of millions."
French President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute to Annan on Saturday. "We will never forget his calm regard, nor his strength," Macron tweeted.
'Diplomatic rock star'
Born in 1938 in Kumasi, the capital city of Ghana's Ashanti region, Annan was the son of an executive of a European trading company, the United Africa company, a subsidiary of the Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever.
He began working for the UN in 1962 and was appointed secretary general in 1996.
Four years after receiving his 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, his tenure was tarnished by an investigation over an oil-for-food scandal allegedly involving him and his son.
A commission of inquiry cleared Annan of any serious wrongdoing, but found ethical and management lapses linked to his son Kojo's ties with a Swiss firm that won lucrative contracts in the oil-for-food scheme.
Despite the lows, he left the post as one of the most popular UN leaders ever, and was widely considered a "diplomatic rock star" in international diplomatic circles.
After ending his second term as UN chief, Annan went on to take high-profile mediation roles in Kenya and in Syria.
He enjoyed some success in ending post-election turmoil in Kenya in 2007 but he resigned from the peace mission for Syria in 2012.
Annan complained that divisions among world powers at the Security Council had turned his job as Syria envoy into a "mission impossible."
He later set up a foundation devoted to conflict resolution and joined the Elders group of statesmen which regularly speaks out on global issues. The group, founded by anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, said it was "shocked and deeply saddened" by Annan's death.
(With AFP)
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