Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan was born on April 8, 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana.The Ghanaian was the seventh Secretary General of the UN and served from 1997 to 2006. While serving as Secretary General, Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the Noble Peace Prize for their efforts towards human rights and HIV/Aids awareness .

Born on April 8, 1938, Annan was raised in a noble family. As a young boy Ananan attended a prestigious Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast, Ghana. 1957, the year Annan graduated, his his home country was declared independent from Great Britain.In 1958, Annan still continued to further his education and began to study at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology. Soon he moved to the U.S to continue his studies and studied at Macalester University in Minnesota. Also he studied international relations at MIT and Switzerland .

Annan Began working with the United Nations in 1962. In which he was a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the UN. Annan was also appointed assistant Secretary- General in three different positions. Which inculcated Human Resources, Management and Security Coordinator, Program Planning, Budget and Finance, Peacekeeping Operations  In 1997 Annan replaced Dr. Boutrous Boutrous Ghali as Secretary General. When Annan was Secretary-General he made a priority to fight for human rights as well as to battle HIV/AIDS in the international community.

Throughout his years in the UN Ananan focused on humanitarian work.In places that are war torn such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, etc. Also he made poverty a priority when he was in office. Following his resignation in 2006, Annan joined the Group of Elders founded by Nelson Mandela. Also Annan was appointed to U.N. Arab League Envoy to try to end the ongoing conflict in Syria. He later resigned from the position after stating progress was never made.

Being Secretary-General of the UN is not the easiest job in the world. During difficult times there has to be patience. That is what I see when I think of Kofi Annan .Not everybody is going to succeed when given a difficult task. But if you have a great leader you have to own up to it.