Kofi Annan was the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He is from Kumasi, Ghana.
“Kofi Annan was born on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana, which was, at the time, part of the British Empire and known as the Gold Coast. Kofi had a twin sister named Efua Atta, who lived to be 53 years old. Living to be 80 years old, Mr. Annan died on 18 August 2018 in Bern, Switzerland” (wikipedia).
“Mr. Annan studied at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1961. In 1961-1962, he undertook graduate studies at the Institute of International Affairs in Geneva, and in 1972 earned a Master of Science degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management” (un.org). Annan went to Macalester College. When he was there, he studies economics. He went on to study international relations at the Graduate Institute Geneva. Finally, he studied management at MIT.
In 1962, Annan joined the UN where he worked for the World Health Organization’s Geneva office. During his early career 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. On 13 December 1996, Annan was appointed the Secretary-General by the Security Council. He was later confirmed by the General Assembly. “This made him the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself. He had the honor of being re-elected for a second term in 2001. He was also succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007″ (un.org).
Annan dedicated a majority of his time to learning several languages to be trilingual. He was fluent in English, French, and several African languages. Akan and Kru are two of the types of African languages that he knew.
Works Cited
“Kofi Annan Secretary-General.” United Nations, United Nations, http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/kofi-annan.
“Kofi Annan Biography.” Kofi Annan Foundation, 6 Apr. 2021, http://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/kofi-annan/.
“Kofi Annan.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 4 Apr. 2021, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Kofi-Annan.
Cowell, Alan. “Kofi Annan, Who Redefined the U.N., Dies at 80.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 18 Aug. 2018, http://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/obituaries/kofi-annan-dead.html.
“What Kofi Annan Understood about Syria.” Syria Justice & Accountability Centre, 4 Oct. 2018, syriaaccountability.org/updates/2018/08/22/what-kofi-annan-understood-about-syria/.
“Kofi Annan.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annan.
“News and Events.” Peace Palace Library Kofi Annans Works and Contributions Comments, http://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/2018/08/kofi-annans-works-and-contributions/#:~:text=Kofi%20Annan%20will%20be%20remembered,as%20well%20as%20peacekeeping%20efforts.
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