Updated: March 2, 2021
Former U.S. President Barack Obama paid his respects to former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Saturday following Annan’s death in Switzerland at the age of 80.
“Kofi Annan was a diplomat and humanitarian who embodied the mission of the United Nations like few others. His integrity, persistence, optimism, and sense of our common humanity always informed his outreach to the community of nations,” Obama said in a Facebook post.
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“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. Michelle and I offer our condolences to his family and many loved ones,” Obama added. The former President also shared a photo of himself with Annan.
Born in Ghana, Annan was one of the most influential African voices in the 21st century who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006.
His passing on Saturday was announced by the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation on Twitter. 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
“Mr. Annan, who shared the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize with the international body he led from 1997 to 2006, owed his original triumph and his later turmoil to tense relations with the United States. In some ways, he was an accidental secretary general,” The Washington Post reported.
Kofi Atta Annan was born in Kumasi on April 8, 1938 when Ghana was still under the British rule.
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