The Reminiscences Of A Colossus: The Kofi Annan Legacy




"Kofi Annan was the United Nations and the United Nations was Kofi Annan.”

This was an extract from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, in highlighting the former's contributions to the United Nations after his death on August 18, 2018 in Switzerland.

Kofi Annan, the Ghanaian diplomat was born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938. He preceded Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations for two consecutive five-year terms from January 1997 to December 2006.



Annan attended Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast and furthered to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. While abroad, he studied at Macalester College, United States, and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Although many had admiration for his time as Secretary General of the UN, others criticised his inability to prevent the Rwandan genocide and massacres in Srebrenica, corruption scandals in the oil-for-food scheme, the sexual assaults by UN peacekeepers, and the inability to prevent killings in Darfur. Regardless of these criticisms, Kofi Annan stood tall with his remarkable and celebrated leadership in the United Nations.

According to Barack Obama, Former U.S. President. “His integrity, persistence, optimism, and sense of our common humanity always informed his outreach to the community of nations. Long after he had broken barriers, Kofi never stopped his pursuit of a better world, and made time to motivate and inspire the next generation of leaders."



When Kofi Annan took over the organisation, reports proved how it faced numerous challenges. They included a tense and often hostile relationship with its most powerful member state, the US, a difficult budgetary situation and what appeared to be an inability to fulfil its core peacekeeping, human rights and development functions. By the end of his term, things looked very different and relations with key member countries had been restored.

Also, Kofi Annan helped establish the Global Fund to Fight Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria. He adopted the UN’s first-ever counter-terrorism strategy, and led Member States to adopt the responsibility to protect framework that addressed genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. Additionally, he strengthened UN peacekeeping and launched the Global Compact initiative that continues to encourage corporate social responsibility.



Mr. Annan undertook wide-ranging diplomatic initiatives. In 1998, he helped ease the transition to civilian rule in Nigeria. In the same year, he visited Iraq to resolve an impasse between Iraq and the Security Council over compliance with resolutions on weapons inspections and other matters; this effort helped to avoid an outbreak of hostilities which was imminent at that time.

Lastly, Annan under his Foundation launched projects to safeguard elections and democracy, promote youth leadership in the face of violent extremism, and to ensure that peace processes really produce lasting peace. He advocated for agriculture that serves the poorest and emphatically warned against the dangers of climate change. With his Foundation,

Kofi Annan supported countries facing difficult elections such as Nigeria, Mexico, Malaysia, Cameroun and Zimbabwe.
Concluding with words of George W. Bush, Former U.S. President “Kofi was a gentle man and a tireless leader of the United Nations. His voice of experience will be missed around the world.”

Written by: Nambe Patrick

Ghana Institute of Journalism, Accra

Level 300 JN

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