Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene August 2018 | Page 26

People
In Transition
Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies
Ghanaian
who served
as secretary
general
between 1997
and 2006, dies
aged 80
The former UN
secretary general
Kofi Annan,
has died at the
age of 80 after a short illness, his family and foundation
announced on Saturday.
Kofi Annan was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his
humanitarian work with the UN. Photograph: Allison
Joyce/Reuters
The Ghanaian was the seventh secretary general and served
for two terms between 1997 and 2006. He was awarded the
Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work jointly with the
UN as an organization in 2001.
He died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland in the early hours
of Saturday the August 18 with his wife, Nane, and three
children Ama, Kojo and Nina, by his side. He had retired to
Geneva and later lived in a Swiss village.
Annan’s Foundation issued a statement on his Twitter
account on Saturday that described him as a “global
statesman and deeply committed internationalist who fought
throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world”.
The statement added that Annan, who succeeded Boutros
Boutros-Ghali as UN leader, was a “son of Ghana and felt a
special responsibility towards Africa”.
The current UN Secretary General, António Guterres,
whom Annan appointed to lead its refugee agency, said: “In
many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose
through the ranks to lead the organization into the new
millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”
The statement added that Annan, who succeeded Boutros
Boutros-Ghali as UN leader, was a “son of Ghana and felt a
special responsibility towards Africa”.
The current UN Secretary General, António Guterres,
whom Annan appointed to lead its refugee agency, said: “In
many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations. He rose
through the ranks to lead the organization into the new
millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”
Born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938, Annan joined
the UN system in 1962 as an administrative officer with
the World Health Organization in Geneva. He later served
with the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis
Ababa, the UN Emergen