Former UN chief, Kofi Annan, dies at 80

The former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Annan is dead, Starrfmonline.com can confirm.

Information gathered indicate that the former Ghanaian diplomat died in Switzerland Saturday after a protracted illness.

Mr. Annan was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations.

He was appointed as the Secretary-General on 13 December 1996 by the Security Council, and later confirmed by the General Assembly, making him the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself.

He was re-elected for a second term in 2001, and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007.

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 18th August after a short illness… pic.twitter.com/NDOy2NmAAs

— Kofi Annan Foundation (@KofiAnnanFdn) August 18, 2018

Kofi Atta Annan was born on 8 April 1938 in Kumasi, in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

He is the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

Annan went on to study economics at Macalester College, international relations from the Graduate Institute Geneva and management at MIT. Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organization’s Geneva office.

He went on to work in several capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996.

As the Secretary-General, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy; worked to combat HIV, especially in Africa; and launched the UN Global Compact. He has been criticized for not expanding the Security Council and faced calls for resignation after an investigation into the Oil-for-Food Programme.

After leaving the UN, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development. In 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution to the ongoing conflict there.

Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN’s lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution. In September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis.

Tributes have been pouring in from world leaders and diplomats, including UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has ordered flags be flown at half-mast across the country and in diplomatic missions across the world for seven days, starting on Monday.

He called Mr Annan “one of our greatest compatriots”.

I have directed that, in his honour, Ghana’s national flag will fly at half-mast across the country and in all of Ghana’s diplomatic missions across the world, from Monday, 20th August, 2018, for one week.

Rest in perfect peace, Kofi. You have earned it. God bless. 7/7

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) August 18, 2018

I am grief-stricken over the death of Kofi Annan. Kofi was the epitome of human decency and grace. In a world now filled with leaders who are anything but that, the world’s loss becomes even more painful. He was a friend to thousands and a leader of millions.

— Zeid Raad Al Hussein (@raad_zeid) August 18, 2018

Saddened to hear that Kofi Annan has passed away. 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. The UN and the world have lost one of their giants.

— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) August 18, 2018