Kofi Atta Annan was born on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana. During 1997 -2007, he served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN). Annan always had a great passion for proper education besides how his country was not offering a better education to its citizens. In 1961, he completed his undergraduate studies in Economics at the Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He then finished his graduation in Economics at the Institut Universitaire des Hautes Etudes internationals in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961 to 1962. With a proper degree in his hand, Annan returned to U.S. where he did his Master’s in Management and completed his Science degree in 1972 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Annan is extremely good at speaking multiple languages and can fluently speak English, French and many other African languages.

In 1962, Kofi Annan officially joined the United Nations. It was when he started his work for the World Health Organization (WHO). Since that time, Annan is personally involved with different activities pertaining within the United Nations and in most of its different branches. These branches include the UN Emergency Force in Ismailia and the UN Commissioner for Refugees. Annan was appointed to the Headquarters of UN in New York where he dealt with issues that ranged from peacekeeping to resources management.

On January 1, 1997, Annan was appointed as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. He served two terms of five years from 1997 to 2002 and from 2002 to 2007. He is the first Secretary-General to be appointed from the UN staff position. In 2002, Annan showcased extra efforts and helped to develop two more independent bodies in the United Nations. One is the Peacebuilding commission, and the other is the Human Rights Council. His keen involvement in peacekeeping is beyond expectations and has played a vital role in some different international negotiations. In regards to sales of oil, he facilitated major negotiation with Baghdad, Iraq. He has also done multi-negotiations for peacemaking in Iraq, Libya, and Lebanon.

Annan’s tenure at the UN was mainly focused on the development of relationships between the citizens, organizations and non-governmental agencies. Such relationships are always beneficial for environmental sustainability, to reduce global poverty, defeat inequality and fight for human rights. In 2001, Annan received a Noble Peace Prize for his peacekeeping work with the United Nations.

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http://www.blackpast.org/gah/annan-kofi-1938