'I am a stubborn optimist': Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan
Authored By Wion Web Desk
Published: Aug 18, 2018, 03:18 IST | Updated: Aug 18, 2018, 03:18 IST
In Geneva, the Kofi Annan Foundation announced his peaceful death after a short undisclosed illness with 'immense sadness', saying he was surrounded in his last days by his second wife Nane and children Ama, Kojo and Nina.
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Kofi Annan died on Saturday at the age of 80
Former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan died on Saturday at the age of 80, his foundation said, after decades of championing efforts to try to end protracted conflicts in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Annan, a Ghanaian national, died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland, in the early hours, his close associates said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Annan, a Ghanaian national, died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland, in the early hours, his close associates said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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Annan served two terms as UN Secretary-General
After rising through the ranks of the United Nations, Annan served two terms as UN Secretary-General in New York from 1997-2006 and retired to live in a Swiss village in the Geneva countryside. His 10-year-old foundation promotes good governance and the transformation of African agriculture.
"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," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whom Annan had chosen to head the UN refugee agency, said in a statement.
"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," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whom Annan had chosen to head the UN refugee agency, said in a statement.
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He served as the first UN envoy
He staunchly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and later served as the first UN envoy at the start of Syria's war, but quit after world powers failed to fulfil their commitments, saying: "I lost my troops on the way to Damascus".
"The UN can be improved, it is not perfect but if it didn't exist you would have to create it," he told the BBC's Hard Talk during an interview for his 80th birthday last April, recorded at the Geneva Graduate Institute where he had studied.
"The UN can be improved, it is not perfect but if it didn't exist you would have to create it," he told the BBC's Hard Talk during an interview for his 80th birthday last April, recorded at the Geneva Graduate Institute where he had studied.
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UN peacekeeping forces again failed to stop the killing
Annan was at the helm at the time of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, where insufficient UN peacekeeping forces again failed to stop the killing, and during a fiasco in Somalia that preceded Rwanda.
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'I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist'
At an event in April to mark his 80th birthday, Annan was defensive about his role in Rwanda, joked wryly about being mistaken for actor Morgan Freeman after retiring, and decried a lack of strong leaders to help handle crises.
"We have had difficulties in the past but in some cases, leadership has made a difference," he said, ending on an upbeat note: "I am a stubborn optimist, I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist. The moment I lose hope all is lost, I encourage you to keep hope as well."
"We have had difficulties in the past but in some cases, leadership has made a difference," he said, ending on an upbeat note: "I am a stubborn optimist, I was born an optimist and will remain an optimist. The moment I lose hope all is lost, I encourage you to keep hope as well."
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