Editing Kofi Annan

{{Short description|Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Busumuru]]
| image               = Kofi Annan 2012 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Annan in 2012
| order               = 7th
| office              = Secretary-General of the United Nations
| deputy              = {{ublist|[[Louise Fréchette]]|[[Mark Malloch Brown]]}}
| term_start          = 1 January 1997
| term_end            = 31 December 2006
| predecessor         = [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]]
| successor           = [[Ban Ki-moon]]
| office1             = UN and [[Arab League]] Envoy to Syria
| 1blankname1         = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| 1namedata1          = {{ublist|[[Ban Ki-moon]] (UN)|[[Nabil Elaraby]] (League)}}
| term_start1         = 23 February 2012
| term_end1           = 31 August 2012
| predecessor1        = ''Position established''
| successor1          = [[Lakhdar Brahimi]]
| office2             = [[Under-Secretary-General]] for [[United Nations Department of Peace Operations|Peacekeeping&nbsp;Operations]]
| 2blankname2         = Secretary-General
| 2namedata2          = Boutros Boutros-Ghali
| term_start2         = 1 March 1993
| term_end2           = 31 December 1996
| predecessor2        = [[Marrack Goulding]]
| successor2          = [[Bernard Miyet]]
| office3             = [[Chancellor of the University of Ghana]]
| term_start3         = 2008
| term_end3           = 1 August 2018
| predecessor3        = [[Emmanuel Noi Omaboe]]
| successor3          = [[Mary Chinery-Hesse]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1938|04|08|df=y}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2018|08|18|1938|04|08|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Kumasi]], then part of the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Colony of the Gold&nbsp;Coast]]
| death_place         = [[Bern]], Switzerland
| spouse              = {{plainlist}}
* {{marriage|Titi Alakija|1965|1983|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Nane Lagergren<br />|1984|<!--Omission per Template:Marriage instructions-->}}
{{endplainlist}}
| children            = 3, including [[Kojo Annan|Kojo]]
| relatives           = {{unbulleted list|item_style={{longitem}}|[[Kobina Annan]] (brother)|[[Adeyemo Alakija]] {{nowrap|(father-in-law)}}|[[Nina Lagergren]] {{nowrap|(mother-in-law)}}|[[Aduke Alakija]] {{nowrap|(sister-in-law)}}}}
| education           = {{unbulleted list|item_style={{longitem}}|[[Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology]]|[[Macalester College]] ([[B. A.|BA]])|[[Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies]]|[[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] ([[M. S.|MS]])}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Diplomat|economist}}
| awards              = [[List of awards and honours received by Kofi Annan|Full list]]
| signature           = Kofi Annan signature.svg
| website             = {{Official website|kofiannanfoundation.org|name=Foundation}}
}}
'''Kofi Atta Annan'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|oʊ|f|i|_|ˈ|æ|n|æ|n}} {{respell|KOH|fee|_|AN|an}},<ref><!--source says it is KOH-fi AN-an; see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/17_07_06_phonetics.pdf-->{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/07/how_to_say_kofi_annan.html|title=BBC – The Editors: How to say: Kofi Annan|author=[Host]|date=26 July 2006|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210113429/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/07/how_to_say_kofi_annan.html|archive-date=10 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|USalso|-|_|ˈ|ɑː|n|ɑː|n}} {{respell|-_|AH|nahn}};<ref>{{Merriam-Webster|Annan|access-date=27 June 2024}}</ref>}} (8 April 1938{{snd}}18 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh [[secretary-general of the United Nations]] from 1997 to 2006.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/1996/19961217.ga9208.html |title=General Assembly Appoints Kofi Annan of Ghana As Seventh Secretary-general |publisher=United Nations |date=17 December 1996 |access-date=22 May 2020 |archive-date=27 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927044136/https://www.un.org/press/en/1996/19961217.ga9208.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the [[2001 Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref name=NobelLaur>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/summary/|title=The Nobel Peace Prize 2001|publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]]|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819225327/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/summary/|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He was the founder and chairman of the [[Kofi Annan Foundation]], as well as chairman of [[The Elders (organization)|The Elders]], an international organisation founded by [[Nelson Mandela]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kofi-Annan|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |title=Kofi Annan {{!}} Ghanaian statesman and secretary-general of the United Nations|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011154639/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kofi-Annan|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Annan joined the United Nations in 1962, working for the [[World Health Organization]]'s [[Geneva]] office. He went on to work in several capacities at the [[UN Headquarters]], including serving as the [[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations|Under-Secretary-General]] for [[United Nations peacekeeping|peacekeeping]] between March 1992 and December 1996. He was appointed secretary-general on 13 December 1996 by the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]] and later confirmed by the [[United Nations General Assembly|General Assembly]], making him the first officeholder to be elected from the UN staff itself. He was re-elected for a second term in 2001 and was succeeded as secretary-general by [[Ban Ki-moon]] in 2007.

As secretary-general, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy, worked to combat [[HIV/AIDS]] (especially [[HIV/AIDS in Africa|in Africa]]) and launched the [[UN Global Compact]]. He was criticised for not expanding the Security Council and faced calls for his resignation after an investigation into the [[Oil-for-Food Programme]], but was largely exonerated of personal corruption.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/the-verdict-on-kofi-annan.html|title=The Verdict on Kofi Annan|date=30 March 2005|newspaper=The New York Times|author=[Editorial]|issn=0362-4331|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723053730/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/opinion/the-verdict-on-kofi-annan.html|archive-date=23 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> After the end of his term as secretary-general, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on [[international development]]. In 2012, Annan was the UN–[[Arab League]] Joint [[Special Envoy of the Secretary-General|Special Representative]] for Syria to help find a resolution to the [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/activities_by_region/middle_east/syria|title=United Nations Department of Political Affairs – Syria|publisher=United Nations|date=19 October 2012|access-date=29 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503024615/https://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/main/activities_by_region/middle_east/syria|archive-date=3 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="SyriaBBC">{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Marcus|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17144805|title=Syria unrest: Opposition seeks arms pledge|work=BBC News|date=28 February 2012|access-date=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513211700/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17144805|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN's lack of progress with regards to conflict resolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Kofi-Annan-resigns-as-UN-Syria-envoy/articleshow/15329904.cms|title=Kofi Annan resigns as UN Syria envoy|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=2 August 2012|access-date=2 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803140147/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Kofi-Annan-resigns-as-UN-Syria-envoy/articleshow/15329904.cms|archive-date=3 August 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kora Award winners announced|url=http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Kora-Award-winners-announced-20001120|website=[[News24 (website)|News24]]|access-date=30 June 2016|date=20 November 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325191031/http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Archive/Kora-Award-winners-announced-20001120|archive-date=25 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the [[2015 Rohingya refugee crisis|Rohingya crisis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/kofi-annan-vows-stay-impartial-leading-commision-160907074315313.html|title=Kofi Annan vows to lead impartial Myanmar mission|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=8 September 2016|access-date=12 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908162225/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/kofi-annan-vows-stay-impartial-leading-commision-160907074315313.html|archive-date=8 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> He died in 2018 and was given a [[state funeral]].
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== Early life and education ==
Kofi Annan was born in Fante New Town, an ethnic [[Fante people|Fante]] community in [[Kumasi]] in the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (now [[Ghana]]) on 8 April 1938.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/20091008561/kofi-annan/ | title=Kofi Annan - Biography | date=8 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-19 |title=Biography |url=https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/kofi-annan/biography/ |access-date=2022-08-29 |publisher=Kofi Annan Foundation |language=en-GB |archive-date=29 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829082910/https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/kofi-annan/biography/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shared the middle name ''Atta'', which in the [[Akan language]] means "twin".<ref name="CNNI" /> Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's Fante [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] families; both of their grandfathers and their uncle were Fante [[Ghanaian chieftaincy|paramount chiefs]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.everythingfante.org/kofi-annan-former-secretary-general-of-the-united-nations-africas-foremost-diplomat-and-a-recipient-of-the-nobel-peace-prize/ | title=Kofi Annan: Former secretary-general of the United Nations, Africa's Foremost Diplomat and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. – Everything Fante }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Kofi Annan – The Man To Save The World? |url=http://www.williamshawcross.com/index.php?page=annan |url-status=dead|magazine=Saga Magazine |access-date=21 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114194400/http://www.williamshawcross.com/index.php?page=annan |archive-date=14 January 2014 |date=November 2002|via=William Shawcross}}</ref> and their brother [[Kobina Annan|Kobina]] would go on to become Ghana's ambassador to [[Morocco]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/obituaries/kofi-annan-dead.html|title=Kofi Annan, Who Redefined the U.N., Dies at 80|last=Cowell|first=Alan|date=18 August 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=23 March 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407022528/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/obituaries/kofi-annan-dead.html|archive-date=7 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[Akan names]] tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week they were born, sometimes in relation to how many children precede them. ''Kofi'' in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday, the day on which Annan was born.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kofi – English English Dictionary {{!}} English kasahorow |url=https://en.kasahorow.org/app/d/Kofi/en |website=en.kasahorow.org |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202184904/https://en.kasahorow.org/app/d/Kofi/en |url-status=live }}</ref> The last name Annan in Asante means fourth-born child. Annan said that his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.<ref name="Crossette">{{Cite news|last=Crossette|first=Barbara|title=New U.N. Chief Promises Reforms but Says He Won't Cut Jobs|work=The New York Times|date=10 January 1997|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE1D81638F933A25752C0A961958260|access-date=25 February 2008|archive-date=18 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618104341/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/10/world/new-un-chief-promises-reforms-but-says-he-won-t-cut-jobs.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite [[Mfantsipim School|Mfantsipim]], an all-boys [[Methodism|Methodist]] boarding school in [[Cape Coast]] founded in the 1870s. Annan said that the school taught him that "suffering anywhere, concerns people everywhere".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kofi Annan – Center of the Storm. Life Map. A Chief's Son &#124; PBS|url=https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/un/life/map1.html|access-date=2022-04-05|via=[[WNET]]|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011183402/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/un/life/map1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from the UK and began using the name "[[Ghana Empire|Ghana]]".

In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the [[Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=SECRETARY-GENERAL TO BE HONOURED BY KUMASI UNIVERSITY {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |url=https://press.un.org/en/1998/19980821.sgt2149.html |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=press.un.org}}</ref> He received a [[Ford Foundation]] grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies in economics at [[Macalester College]] in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], US, in 1961. Annan then completed a {{lang|fr|diplôme d'études approfondies}} [[DEA (former French degree)|DEA]] degree in International Relations at the [[Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies]] in [[Geneva|Geneva, Switzerland]], from 1961 to 1962. After some years of work experience, he studied at the [[MIT Sloan School of Management]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/mitlist/?page=full|title=The MIT 150: 150 Ideas, Inventions, and Innovators that Helped Shape Our World|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=15 May 2011|access-date=8 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519002514/http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/mitlist/?page=full|archive-date=19 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> (1971–72) in the [[Sloan Fellows]] program and earned a [[Master of Business Administration|master's degree]] in management.

== Diplomatic career ==
In 1962, Annan started working as a budget officer for the [[World Health Organization]], an agency of the United Nations (UN).{{sfn|Meisler|2007|page=27}} From 1974 to 1976, he worked as a manager of the state-owned Ghana Tourist Development Company in [[Accra]].{{sfn|Souare|2006|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=JXgoDwAAQBAJ|pg=PA175}}|175}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} In 1980 he became the head of personnel for the office of the [[UN High Commission for Refugees]] (UNHCR) in [[Geneva]]. Between 1981 and 1983, he was a member of the Governing Board of the [[International School of Geneva]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/ecolint/posts/the-whole-ecolint-community-is-deeply-saddened-to-learn-today-of-the-death-of-mr/10156167893423692/  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/77655193691/10156167893423692 |archive-date=2022-02-26 |url-access=limited|title=The whole Ecolint community is deeply saddened to learn today of the death of Mr. Kofi Annan |author=Ecole Internationale de Genève |author-link=International School of Geneva |date=18 August 2018 |via=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1983 he became the director of administrative management services of the [[UN Secretariat]] in New York. In 1987, Annan was appointed as an [[assistant secretary-general]] for Human Resources Management and Security Coordinator for the UN system. In 1990, he became Assistant Secretary-General for Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Control.{{sfn|Souare|2006|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=JXgoDwAAQBAJ|pg=PA175}}|175}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

When Secretary-General [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] established the [[United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations|Department of Peacekeeping Operations]] (DPKO) in 1992, Annan was appointed to the new department as Deputy to then Under-Secretary-General [[Marrack Goulding]].{{sfn|Myint-U|Scott|2007|page=88}} Annan replaced Goulding in March 1993 as [[Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations|Under-Secretary-General]] of that department after American officials persuaded Boutros-Ghali that Annan was more flexible and more aligned with the role that the Pentagon expected of UN peacekeepers in Somalia.<ref name=Reut>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-crisis-annan-idUSL22403320080122/|title=FACTBOX: Career of Kofi Annan, Kenya crisis mediator|work=[[Reuters]]|date=22 January 2008|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819214302/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-crisis-annan-idUSL22403320080122/|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Meisler|2011|pages=431-432}} On 29 August 1995, while Boutros-Ghali was unreachable on an aeroplane, Annan instructed United Nations officials to "relinquish for a limited period of time their authority to veto air strikes in [[Bosnia]]". This move allowed [[NATO]] forces to conduct [[Operation Deliberate Force]] and made him a favourite of the United States. According to [[Richard Holbrooke]], Annan's "gutsy performance" convinced the United States that he would be a good replacement for Boutros-Ghali.{{sfn|Holbrooke|2011|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=fFizqu-mHZ0C|pg=PT168}}|168}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

He was appointed a [[special representative of the Secretary-General]] to the [[former Yugoslavia]], serving from November 1995 to March 1996.<ref name="NobelBio">{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/biographical/|title=Kofi Annan Biographical|publisher=The Nobel Prize|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818185519/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/biographical/|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=UNBio>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/kofi-annan|title=Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan|publisher=United Nations|access-date=19 August 2018|date=14 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819011140/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/kofi-annan|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Criticism ===
In 2003, retired Canadian general [[Roméo Dallaire]], who was force commander of the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] (UNAMIR), claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent [[Rwandan genocide|genocide]]. In his book ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda]]'' (2003), Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to respond to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered [[Tutsi]]s. In 2004, ten years after the [[genocide]] in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said: "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3573229.stm|work=BBC News|title=UN chief's Rwanda genocide regret|date=26 March 2004|access-date=4 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701103806/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3573229.stm|archive-date=1 July 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?307280-1/after-words-kofi-annan ''After Words'' interview with Annan on ''Interventions'', 9 September 2012], [[C-SPAN]]}}
In his book ''[[Interventions: A Life in War and Peace]]'', Annan again argued that the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations could have made better use of the media to raise awareness of the violence in Rwanda and put pressure on governments to provide the troops necessary for an intervention. Annan explained that the [[Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|events in Somalia]] and the collapse of the [[United Nations Operation in Somalia II|UNOSOM II mission]] fostered a hesitation among [[Member states of the United Nations|UN member states]] to approve robust peacekeeping operations. As a result, when the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda|UNAMIR]] mission was approved just days after the battle, the resulting force lacked the troop levels, resources and mandate to operate effectively.{{sfn|Annan|Mousavizadeh|2012|loc=chpt. 2}}

== United Nations Secretary-General (1997–2006) ==

=== Appointment ===
{{Main|1996 United Nations Secretary-General selection}}

In 1996, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for a second term. Although he won 14 of the 15 votes on the Security Council, he was vetoed by the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last = Crossette |first = Barbara |title = Round One in the U.N. Fight: A U.S. Veto of Boutros-Ghali |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/20/world/round-one-in-the-un-fight-a-us-veto-of-boutros-ghali.html |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 20 November 1996 |access-date = 9 October 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171009144527/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/20/world/round-one-in-the-un-fight-a-us-veto-of-boutros-ghali.html |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> After four deadlocked meetings of the Security Council, Boutros-Ghali suspended his candidacy, becoming the only secretary-general ever to be denied a second term. Annan was the leading candidate to replace him, beating [[Amara Essy]] by one vote in the first round. However, France vetoed Annan four times before finally abstaining. The UN Security Council recommended Annan on 13 December 1996.<ref>{{cite press release |title = BIO/3051 – "Kofi Annan of Ghana recommended by Security Council for appointment as Secretary-General of United Nations" |publisher=United Nations |date = 13 December 1996 |url = https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961213.bio3051.html |access-date = 12 December 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080618062625/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961213.bio3051.html |archive-date = 18 June 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Traub|2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bestintentionsko00trau/page/66 66]–67}} Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly,<ref>{{cite press release |title = GA/9208 -"General Assembly appoints Kofi Annan of Ghana as seventh Secretary-General" |publisher=United Nations |date=17 December 1996 |url = https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961217.ga9208.html |access-date = 12 December 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080618062628/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1996/19961217.ga9208.html|archive-date = 18 June 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> he started his first term as secretary-general on 1 January 1997.

Due to Boutros-Ghali's overthrow, a second Annan term would give Africa the office of Secretary-General for three consecutive terms. In 2001, the [[Asia-Pacific Group]] agreed to support Annan for a second term in return for the [[African Group]]'s support for an Asian secretary-general in the [[2006 United Nations Secretary-General selection|2006 selection]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sievers |first1=Loraine |last2=Daws |first2=Sam |chapter = Chapter 7 Section 5b |chapter-url = https://www.scprocedure.org/chapter-7-section-5b |title = The Procedure of the UN Security Council, 4th Edition |access-date = 9 October 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171009193821/https://www.scprocedure.org/chapter-7-section-5b |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Security Council recommended Annan for a second term on 27 June 2001, and the General Assembly approved his reappointment on 29 June 2001.<ref>{{cite press release |title=General Assembly Adopts Security Council Resolution to Appoint Kofi Annan to Further Term as Secretary-General |url = https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/ga9889.doc.htm |publisher=United Nations |date=29 June 2001 |language=en |access-date=9 October 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171009154332/https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/ga9889.doc.htm |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Activities ===
[[File:President Vladimir Putin with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.jpg|thumb|Annan with Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]] at [[United Nations Headquarters]] in New York City, 2001]]

==== Recommendations for UN reform ====
Soon after taking office in 1997, Annan released two reports on management reform. On 17 March 1997, the report ''Management and Organisational Measures'' (A/51/829) introduced new management mechanisms through the establishment of a cabinet-style body to assist him and the UN's activities in accordance with four core missions. A comprehensive reform agenda was issued on 14 July 1997 titled ''Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform'' (A/51/950). Key proposals included the introduction of [[strategic management]] to strengthen [[unity of purpose]], the establishment of the position of deputy secretary-general, a 10-per cent reduction in posts, a reduction in administrative costs, the consolidation of the UN at the country level, and reaching out to [[civil society]] and the [[private sector]] as partners. Annan also proposed to hold a [[Millennium Summit]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Millennium Assembly and the Millennium Summit|url=https://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/fact.htm|publisher=United Nations |date=March 2000|access-date=30 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616173400/http://www.un.org/millennium/sg/report/fact.htm|archive-date=16 June 2012}}</ref>
After years of research, Annan presented a progress report, ''[[In Larger Freedom]]'', to the UN General Assembly on 21 March 2005. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other [[UN reform]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/largerfreedom/|title=In Larger Freedom|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213000423/http://www.un.org/largerfreedom/|archive-date=13 December 2006}}</ref>

On 31 January 2006, Annan outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN in a policy speech to the [[United Nations Association UK]]. The speech, delivered at [[Central Hall, Westminster]], also marked the 60th anniversary of the first meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17358&Cr=Iran&Cr1=nuclear|title=Annan addresses UNA-UK in London|access-date=5 August 2007|publisher=United Nations |date=February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808055700/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17358&Cr=Iran&Cr1=nuclear|archive-date=8 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 7 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the [[United Nations Secretariat]]. The reform report is titled ''Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/reform/|title=Reforming the United Nations|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212212928/http://www.un.org/reform/|archive-date=12 December 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 30 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his analysis and recommendations for updating the entire work programme of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is titled ''Mandating and Delivering: Analysis and Recommendations to Facilitate the Review of Mandates''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/mandatereview|title=Reforming the United Nations, Mandate Review|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=United Nations |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213172029/http://www.un.org/mandatereview/|archive-date=13 December 2006}}</ref>

Regarding the [[UN Human Rights Council]], Annan said "declining credibility" had "cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system. Unless we re-make our human rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself." He believed that, despite its flaws, the council could do good.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Annan|first=Kofi|title=Kofi Annan: Despite flaws, UN Human Rights Council can bring progress|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/1208/Kofi-Annan-Despite-flaws-UN-Human-Rights-Council-can-bring-progress|journal=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|access-date=6 December 2012|date=8 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102153928/http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/1208/Kofi-Annan-Despite-flaws-UN-Human-Rights-Council-can-bring-progress|archive-date=2 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Halvorssen|first=Thor|title=Chavez and Nazarbayev Celebrate Tyrannical Victory at U.N. Human Rights Council|url=http://humanrightsfoundation.org/media/Thor-Halvorssen-Chavez-Nazarbayev-celebrate-UN-Rights-Council-membership-12-11-2012-Huffington-Post-Daily-Caller.php|work=[[The Daily Caller]]|via=[[Human Rights Foundation]] |access-date=6 December 2012|date=November 12, 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309084203/http://humanrightsfoundation.org/media/Thor-Halvorssen-Chavez-Nazarbayev-celebrate-UN-Rights-Council-membership-12-11-2012-Huffington-Post-Daily-Caller.php|archive-date=9 March 2013}}</ref>

In March 2000, Annan appointed the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations{{sfn|Bogdandy|Wolfrum|Philipp|2005|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=EHpHKjM5HnUC|q=Annan%20Brahimi%207%20March%202000|pg=PA404}}|404}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} to assess the shortcomings of the then existing system and to make specific and realistic recommendations for change.{{sfn|Gareis|2012|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=-NwcBQAAQBAJ|pg=PA120}}|120}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} The panel was composed of individuals experienced in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The report it produced, which became known as the [[Brahimi Report]], after the chair of the Panel [[Lakhdar Brahimi]], called for "renewed political commitment on the part of Member States, significant institutional change, and increased financial support".<ref name=BahimiReport>{{Cite web|archive-date=2018-08-19|title=United Nations Conferences, Meetings and Events|url=http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/brahimi_report.shtml|access-date=2022-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182238/http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/brahimi_report.shtml}}</ref> The Panel further noted that to be effective, UN peacekeeping operations must be adequately resourced and equipped, and operate under clear, credible and achievable mandates.<ref name=BahimiReport /> In a letter transmitting the report to the General Assembly and Security Council, Annan stated that the Panel's recommendations were essential to making the United Nations truly credible as a force for peace.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Penketh|first1=Anne|title=Annan rewrites the rules for UN peace-keeping|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/annan-rewrites-the-rules-for-un-peace-keeping-711206.html|access-date=19 August 2018|newspaper=The Independent|date=24 August 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819145955/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/annan-rewrites-the-rules-for-un-peace-keeping-711206.html|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that same year, the Security Council adopted several provisions relating to peacekeeping following the report, in [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 1327|Resolution 1327]].<ref>{{cite press release|title=Security Council, responding to 'Brahimi Report', adopts wide-ranging resolution on peacekeeping operations|publisher=United Nations |id= SC/6948|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20001113.sc6948.doc.html|date=13 November 2000|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026030422/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20001113.sc6948.doc.html|archive-date=26 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Millennium Development Goals ====
In 2000, Annan issued a report titled ''We the Peoples: the Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century''.{{sfn|Spoor|2006|p={{pli|{{GBurl|id=ga1uFYKbfdYC|pg=PA9}}|9}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} The report called for member states to "put people at the centre of everything we do":{{sfn|Jr|Pubantz|2017|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=6TMlDwAAQBAJ|pg=PA105}}|105}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} "No calling is more noble, and no responsibility greater, than that of enabling men, women and children, in cities and villages around the world, to make their lives better."<ref name=WTP>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf|title="We the peoples" – The role of the United Nations in the 21st Century|year=2000|access-date=28 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623053539/http://www.un.org/en/events/pastevents/pdfs/We_The_Peoples.pdf|archive-date=23 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{rp|7}}

In the final chapter of the report, Annan called to "free our fellow men and women from the abject and [[Dehumanization|dehumanizing]] poverty in which more than 1&nbsp;billion of them are currently confined".{{r|WTP|p=77}}

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, national leaders adopted the [[Millennium Declaration]], which the United Nations Secretariat subsequently implemented as the [[Millennium Development Goals]] in 2001.{{sfn|Nwonwu|2008|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=tYR2s9xeG4oC|pg=PP1}}|1}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

==== United Nations Information Technology Service ====

Within the ''We the Peoples'' document, Annan suggested the establishment of a United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS), a consortium of high-tech volunteer corps, including [[NetCorps]] Canada and Net Corps America, which [[United Nations Volunteers]] (UNV) would coordinate. In the "Report of the high-level panel of experts on information and communication technology",<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/docs/2000/e2000-55.pdf |title=Report of the high-level panel of experts on information and communication technology |publisher=United Nations |date=22 May 2000 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=16 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716184311/http://www.un.org/documents/ecosoc/docs/2000/e2000-55.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> suggesting a [[UN ICT Task Force]], the panel welcomed the establishment of UNITeS. It made suggestions on its configuration and implementation strategy, including that ICT4D [[volunteering]] opportunities make mobilising "national human resources" (local ICT experts) within developing countries a priority for both men and women. The initiative was launched at the UNV and was active from February 2001 to February 2005. Initiative staff and volunteers participated in the [[World Summit on the Information Society]] (WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unites.org/|title=UNITeS|access-date=9 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040831085541/http://www.unites.org/|archive-date=31 August 2004}}</ref>

==== United Nations Global Compact ====
In an address to the [[World Economic Forum]] on 31 January 1999, Annan argued that the "goals of the United Nations and those of business can, indeed, be mutually supportive" and proposed that the private sector and the United Nations initiate "a global compact of shared values and principles, which will give a human face to the global market".<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/1999/19990201.sgsm6881.html|title=Secretary-general Proposes Global Compact on Human Rights, Labour, Environment, in Address to World Economic Forum in Davos|publisher=United Nations |date=1999-02-01 |access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205135136/http://www.un.org/press/en/1999/19990201.sgsm6881.html|archive-date=5 December 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 26 July 2000, the [[United Nations Global Compact]] was officially launched at UN headquarters in New York. It is a principle-based framework for businesses which aims to "[c]atalyse actions in support of broader UN goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)".<ref name="unglobalcompact">{{cite web|url=http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html|title=About the UN Global Compact|access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611101210/https://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/index.html|archive-date=11 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The Compact established ten core principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and [[anti-corruption]]. Under the Compact, companies commit to the ten principles and are brought together with UN agencies, labour groups and civil society to implement them effectively.

==== Establishment of The Global Fund ====
Towards the end of the 1990s, increased awareness of the destructive potential of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS pushed public health issues to the top of the global development agenda. In April 2001, Annan issued a five-point "Call to Action" to address the [[HIV/AIDS pandemic]]. Stating it was a "personal priority", Annan proposed the establishment of a [[Global AIDS and Health Fund]], "dedicated to the battle against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases",<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/SGSM7779R1.doc.htm|title=Secretary-general Proposes Global Fund for Fight Against HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases at African Leaders Summit|publisher=United Nations |date=2001-04-26 |access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101052503/http://www.un.org/press/en/2001/SGSM7779R1.doc.htm|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> to stimulate the increased international spending needed to help developing countries confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. In June of that year, the General Assembly of the United Nations committed to creating such a fund during a special session on AIDS,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/S-26/2|title=Resolution adopted by the General Assembly S-26/2. Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS|publisher=United Nations |date=27 June 2001|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182252/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES%2FS-26%2F2|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the permanent secretariat of the Global Fund was subsequently established in January 2002.{{sfn|Richey|Ponte|2011|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=AA0ZbeZwp7oC|pg=PA108}}|108}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

==== Responsibility to Protect ====
Following the failure of Annan and the international community to intervene in the [[genocide in Rwanda]] and [[Srebrenica massacre|in Srebrenica]], Annan asked whether the international community had an obligation in such situations to intervene to protect civilian populations. In a speech to the General Assembly on 20 September 1999, "to address the prospects for human security and intervention in the next century",<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19990920.sgsm7136.html|title=Secretary-general Presents His Annual Report to General Assembly|publisher=United Nations |date=1999-09-20 |access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707155757/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19990920.sgsm7136.html|archive-date=7 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Annan argued that [[individual sovereignty]]—the protections afforded by the [[Declaration of Human Rights]] and the [[Charter of the UN]]—was being strengthened, while the notion of [[state sovereignty]] was being redefined by globalisation and international co-operation. As a result, the UN and its member states had to consider a willingness to act to prevent conflict and civilian suffering,{{sfn|MacQueen|2011|p={{pli|{{GBurl|id=dcZvAAAAQBAJ|pg=PA73}}|73}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} a dilemma between "two concepts of sovereignty" that Annan also presented in a preceding article in ''[[The Economist]]'' on 16 September 1999.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/international/1999/09/16/two-concepts-of-sovereignty|title=By Invitation: Two concepts of sovereignty|first=Kofi |last=Annan|newspaper=The Economist|date=1999-09-16|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182414/https://www.economist.com/international/1999/09/16/two-concepts-of-sovereignty|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the March 2000 ''Millennium Report'' to the UN, Annan asked: "If humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica – to gross and systematic violations of human rights that affect every precept of our common humanity?"<ref name="crlowy">{{cite web |last=Renshaw |first=Catherine |title=R2P: An idea whose time never comes |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/r2p-idea-whose-time-never-comes |publisher=[[Lowy Institute]] |access-date=29 January 2023 |date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=29 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129140458/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/r2p-idea-whose-time-never-comes |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2001, the Canadian government established an [[ad hoc committee]] to address this balance between state sovereignty and [[humanitarian intervention]]. The [[International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty]] published its final report in 2001, which focused not on the right of states to intervene but on a responsibility to protect populations at risk. The report moved beyond [[military intervention]], arguing that various diplomatic and humanitarian actions could also be utilised to protect civilian populations.<ref name=":0a" />

In 2005, Annan included the doctrine of "[[Responsibility to Protect]]" (RtoP) in his report ''In Larger Freedom''.<ref name=":0a">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgresponsibility.shtml|title=Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide and the United Nations|publisher=United Nations|language=EN|access-date=25 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227160640/http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgresponsibility.shtml|archive-date=27 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> When the UN General Assembly endorsed that report, it amounted to the first formal endorsement by UN member states of the doctrine of RtoP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/about-rtop/the-un-and-rtop|title=The UN and RtoP|website=responsibilitytoprotect.org|access-date=17 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114211759/http://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/index.php/about-rtop/the-un-and-rtop|archive-date=14 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Iraq ====
In the years after 1998, when [[UNSCOM]] was expelled by the government of [[Saddam Hussein]], and during the [[Iraq disarmament crisis]], in which the United States blamed UNSCOM and former [[IAEA]] director [[Hans Blix]] for failing to disarm Iraq properly, former UNSCOM chief weapons inspector [[Scott Ritter]] blamed Annan for being slow and ineffective in enforcing [[Security Council resolutions on Iraq]] and being overtly submissive to the demands of the [[Clinton administration]] for regime removal and inspection of sites, often presidential palaces, that were not mandated in any resolution and were of questionable intelligence value, severely hampering UNSCOM's ability to co-operate with the Iraqi government and contributing to their expulsion from the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/ritter-nuke-sen.htm|title=Transcript of Scott Ritter's September 3, 1998 Senate testimony|access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212035901/http://emperors-clothes.com/analysis/ritter-nuke-sen.htm|archive-date=12 December 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Chief U.N. Arms Inspector Disturbed by Criticism of Ex-Inspector|work=The New York Times|first=Barbara|last=Crossette|date=8 September 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/09/world/chief-un-arms-inspector-disturbed-by-criticism-of-ex-inspector.html|access-date=15 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024181944/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/09/world/chief-un-arms-inspector-disturbed-by-criticism-of-ex-inspector.html|archive-date=24 October 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Ritter also claimed that Annan regularly interfered with the work of the inspectors and diluted the chain of command by trying to micromanage all of the activities of UNSCOM, which caused intelligence processing (and the resulting inspections) to be backed up and caused confusion with the Iraqis as to who was in charge and as a result, they generally refused to take orders from Ritter or [[Rolf Ekéus]] without explicit approval from Annan, which could have taken days, if not weeks. He later believed Annan was oblivious that the Iraqis took advantage of this to delay inspections. He claimed that on one occasion, Annan refused to implement a no-notice inspection of the [[Iraqi Special Security Organization]] (SSO) headquarters and instead tried to negotiate access. Still, the negotiation took nearly six weeks, giving the Iraqis more than enough time to clean the site.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/ritter.html|title=The Iraqi Threat: How Real Is It?|access-date=6 January 2011|publisher=[[North Country Public Radio]] |date=October 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511091228/http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/ritter.html|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the build-up to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Annan called on the United States and the United Kingdom not to invade without the support of the United Nations. In a September 2004 interview on the [[BBC]], when questioned about the legal authority for the invasion, Annan said he believed it was not in conformity with the UN charter and was illegal.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Iraq war illegal, says Annan|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm|work=BBC News|date=16 September 2004|access-date=12 December 2006|quote="When pressed on whether he viewed the invasion of Iraq as illegal, he said: 'Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal.'"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912171408/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661134.stm|archive-date=12 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Excerpts: Annan interview|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661640.stm|work=BBC News|date=16 September 2004|access-date=12 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301061157/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3661640.stm|archive-date=1 March 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Other diplomatic activities ====
In 1998, Annan was deeply involved in supporting the transition from military to civilian rule in [[Military dictatorship in Nigeria|Nigeria]]. The following year, he supported the efforts of [[East Timor (province)|East Timor]] to secure independence from Indonesia. In 2000, he was responsible for certifying Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, and in 2006, he led talks in New York between the presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria, which led to a settlement of the dispute between the two countries over the [[Bakassi]] peninsula.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stateless in Bakassi: How a Changed Border Left Inhabitants Adrift|url=https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/stateless-bakassi-how-changed-border-left-inhabitants-adrift|publisher=[[Open Society Foundations]]|language=en|access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819052557/https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/stateless-bakassi-how-changed-border-left-inhabitants-adrift|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Annan and Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] disagreed sharply on [[Iran's nuclear program]], on an Iranian exhibition of cartoons mocking [[the Holocaust]], and on the then-upcoming [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]], an Iranian [[Holocaust denial]] conference in 2006.<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/iranian-pm-snubs-annan-over-nuclear-program-1.624490|publisher=[[CBC News]]|title=Iranian PM snubs Annan over nuclear program|date=3 September 2006|access-date=24 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117154024/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2006/09/03/annan-iran.html|archive-date=17 January 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> During a visit to Iran instigated by continued Iranian [[uranium enrichment]], Annan said: "I think the tragedy of the Holocaust is an undeniable historical fact and we should really accept that fact and teach people what happened in World War II and ensure it is never repeated".<ref name="cbc.ca" />

Annan supported sending [[United Nations Mission in Sudan|a UN peacekeeping mission]] to [[War in Darfur|Darfur, Sudan]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Annan warns Darfur is heading for disaster unless UN peacekeepers move in|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2006/09/191902-annan-warns-darfur-heading-disaster-unless-un-peacekeepers-move|website=UN News|language=en|date=13 September 2006|access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819011038/https://news.un.org/en/story/2006/09/191902-annan-warns-darfur-heading-disaster-unless-un-peacekeepers-move|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the [[African Union Mission in Sudan|African Union peacekeeping mission]] to a UN one.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sudan 'backs' Darfur force plan|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6153208.stm|date=17 November 2006|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819011053/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6153208.stm|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on [[women's rights]] and other topics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kofi Annan, women's empowerment key to continent's progress |url=http://genderlinks.org.za/programme-web-menu/kofi-annan-womens-empowerment-key-to-continents-progress-2010-05-25/|website=Gender Links |date=25 May 2010|access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819010955/http://genderlinks.org.za/programme-web-menu/kofi-annan-womens-empowerment-key-to-continents-progress-2010-05-25/|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Beginning in 1998, Annan convened an annual UN "Security Council Retreat" with the 15 states' council representatives. It was held at the [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]] (RBF) Conference Center at the [[Rockefeller family]] estate in [[Pocantico Hills, New York]], and was sponsored by both the RBF and the UN.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rbf.org/grants/programs/pocconference_2005_F.html|title=Pocantico Conferences 2005|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=[[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001030415/http://www.rbf.org/grants/programs/pocconference_2005_F.html|archive-date=1 October 2006}}</ref>

==== Lubbers sexual-harassment investigation ====
In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the [[Office of Internal Oversight Services]] (OIOS) report on the complaint brought by four female workers against [[Ruud Lubbers]], [[UN High Commissioner for Refugees]], for [[sexual harassment]], [[abuse of authority]], and [[Workplace deviance|retaliation]]. The report also reviewed a long-serving staff member's allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against [[Werner Blatter]], director of UNHCR personnel. The investigation found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment; no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official or two subsequent complaints filed later that year. During the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter which some considered a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges.<ref>{{Cite news|title=UN report slams Lubbers for 'regular sexual harassment'|url=http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=17094&name=UN+report+slams+Lubbers+over+sexual+harassment|work=[[Expatica]]|date=18 February 2005|access-date=12 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514235934/http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=17094&name=UN+report+slams+Lubbers+over+sexual+harassment|archive-date=14 May 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Fiona |last1=Fleck |name-list-style=and |first2=Warren |last2=Hoge|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/world/annan-clears-refugee-chief-of-harassment-accusations.html|title=Annan Clears Refugee Chief Of Harassment Accusations|work=The New York Times|date=16 July 2004|access-date=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514094354/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/world/annan-clears-refugee-chief-of-harassment-accusations.html|archive-date=14 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> The internal UN–OIOS report on Lubbers was leaked, and sections accompanied by an article by [[Kate Holt]] were published in a British newspaper. In February 2005, Lubbers resigned as head of the [[UN refugee agency]], saying he wanted to relieve political pressure on Annan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-02-21|title=UN refugee chief quits over sex claims|url=https://www.theage.com.au/world/un-refugee-chief-quits-over-sex-claims-20050221-gdzn0k.html|access-date=2022-04-05|website=[[The Age]]|language=en|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011183407/http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/UN-refugee-chief-quits-over-sex-claims/2005/02/21/1108834690036.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Oil-for-Food scandal ====
In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son [[Kojo Annan]] received payments from the Swiss company [[Cotecna Inspection SA]], which had won a lucrative contract under the UN [[Oil-for-Food Programme]]. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Laurence|first1=Charles|last2=Gilmore|first2=Inigo|title=Kofi Annan calls for full oil-for-food 'scandal' inquiry|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1457428/Kofi-Annan-calls-for-full-oil-for-food-scandal-inquiry.html|access-date=19 August 2018|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=21 March 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820074557/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1457428/Kofi-Annan-calls-for-full-oil-for-food-scandal-inquiry.html|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On 11 November 2005, ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' agreed to apologise and pay a substantial sum in damages to Kojo Annan, accepting that the allegations were untrue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/11/sundaytimes.pressandpublishing|newspaper=The Guardian|title=Sunday Times pays out over Annan story|date=11 November 2005|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819214239/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/nov/11/sundaytimes.pressandpublishing|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Annan appointed the [[Independent Inquiry Committee]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iic-offp.org/about.htm|title=About the Committee|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=Independent Inquiry Committee into The United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212194301/http://www.iic-offp.org/about.htm|archive-date=12 December 2006}}</ref> which was led by former [[US Federal Reserve]] chairman [[Paul Volcker]],<ref name="Members">{{cite web|url=http://www.iic-offp.org/members.htm|title=Members|access-date=12 December 2006|publisher=Independent Inquiry Committee into The United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212193944/http://www.iic-offp.org/members.htm|archive-date=12 December 2006}}</ref> then the director of the [[United Nations Association of the US]]. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry, he recalled having met with Cotecna's chief executive [[Elie-Georges Massey]] twice. In a final report issued on 27 October, the committee found insufficient evidence to indict Annan on any illegal actions but did find fault with [[Benon Sevan]], an Armenian-Cypriot national who had worked for the UN for about 40 years. Appointed by Annan to the Oil-For-Food role, Sevan repeatedly asked Iraqis for allocations of oil to the African Middle East Petroleum Company. Sevan's behaviour was "ethically improper", Volcker said to reporters. Sevan repeatedly denied the charges and argued that he was being made a "[[Scapegoating|scapegoat]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243909,00.html|title=Former U.N. Oil-for-Food Chief Benon Sevan Indicted Over Bribes From Saddam's Regime|date=16 January 2007|access-date=30 June 2012|work=Fox News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528045619/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243909,00.html|archive-date=28 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Volcker report was highly critical of the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new chief operating officer (COO) position to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities then under the Secretary-General's office. The report listed the Western and Middle Eastern companies that had benefited illegally from the program.<ref name="Members" />

=== Nobel Peace Prize ===
{{See also|List of awards and honours received by Kofi Annan}}
In 2001, its centennial year, the [[Nobel Committee]] decided that the [[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace Prize]] was to be divided between the UN and Annan. They were awarded the Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world",<ref name=NobelLaur /> having revitalised the UN and prioritised human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognised his commitment to the struggle to contain the spread of [[HIV in Africa]] and his declared opposition to [[international terrorism]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Doubek |first1=James |title=Kofi Annan, Former U.N. Secretary-General, Peace Prize Winner, Dies At 80 |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/08/18/639812024/kofi-annan-former-u-n-secretary-general-peace-prize-winner-dies-at-80 |access-date=19 August 2018 |publisher=NPR |date=18 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818171637/https://www.npr.org/2018/08/18/639812024/kofi-annan-former-u-n-secretary-general-peace-prize-winner-dies-at-80 |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Soon after Annan was awarded the Peace Prize, he was given a chieftaincy title by the [[Asantehene]] of [[Asanteman]]. The honour was conferred upon him for his "[selfless] contributions to humanity and promotion of peace throughout the world".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-15|title=Kofi Annan earned 'Busumuru' for his selflessness|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kofi-Annan-earned-Busumuru-for-his-selflessness-685285|access-date=2021-08-17|website=[[GhanaWeb]]|language=en|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816045514/https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kofi-Annan-earned-Busumuru-for-his-selflessness-685285|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Relations between the United States and the UN ===
[[File:Rice and Annan.jpg|thumb|Annan with US secretary of state [[Condoleezza Rice]] in 2006]]
Annan defended his deputy secretary-general [[Mark Malloch Brown]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060801744_pf.html|title=Annan Backs Deputy in Dispute With U.S.|date=8 June 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=29 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110044359/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR2006060801744_pf.html|archive-date=10 November 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> who openly criticised the United States in a speech on 6 June 2006: "[T]he prevailing practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another. [...] [That] the US is constructively engaged with the UN [...] is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as [[Rush Limbaugh]] and [[Fox News]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/dsgsm287.doc.htm|title=UN needs US, US needs UN to face challenges – HIV/AIDS, SUDAN – that defy national solutions, says Deputy Secretary-General in New York address|access-date=12 December 2006|last=Brown|first=Mark Malloch|author-link=Mark Malloch Brown|date=6 June 2006|publisher=United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211111010/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/dsgsm287.doc.htm|archive-date=11 December 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer".<ref name=AssociatedPress />

The talk was unusual because it violated the unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticise member nations.<ref name=AssociatedPress /> The interim US ambassador [[John Bolton]], appointed by President [[George W. Bush]], was reported to have told Annan on the phone: "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen in that entire time."<ref name=AssociatedPress>{{cite news|title=Speech by U. N. Leader Draws Angry Response From US|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198535,00.html|agency=Associated Press|date=7 June 2006|access-date=12 December 2006|work=Fox News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211012932/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198535,00.html|archive-date=11 February 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Observers from other nations supported Malloch's view that conservative politicians in the US prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of [[United States and the United Nations|US involvement in the UN]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=CNN – Transcripts|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnr/date/2006-12-11/segment/03|access-date=2022-04-05|work=CNN|date=2006-12-11|archive-date=25 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725032212/https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnr/date/2006-12-11/segment/03|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Farewell addresses ===
{{external media
| float  = right
| width  =
| caption = Annan speaking at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
| headerimage= [[File:Annantrumanlibrary.jpg|alt=Kofi Annan|border|frameless]]
| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?195780-1/secretary-general-farewell-address Farewell Address by Kofi Annan, 11 December 2006], C-SPAN
}}
On 19 September 2006, Annan gave a farewell address to world leaders gathered at the [[United Nations headquarters|UN headquarters]] in New York in anticipation of his retirement on 31 December. In the speech, he outlined three major problems of "an unjust world economy, world disorder, and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law", which he believed "have not resolved, but sharpened" during his time as secretary-general. He also pointed to violence in Africa and the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] as two major issues warranting attention.<ref>{{cite news|first=Evelyn|last=Leopold|title=UN's Annan depicts polarized world in farewell speech|url=http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-19T173615Z_01_N19388437_RTRUKOC_0_US-UN-ASSEMBLY-ANNAN.xml&archived=False&src=091906_1412_ARTICLE_PROMO_also_on_reuters|work=Reuters|date=16 September 2006|access-date=12 December 2006|archive-date=16 February 2011|archive-url=http://web.archive.bibalex.org/web/20110216014707/http://www.reuters.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 11 December 2006, in [[s:Secretary-General Kofi Annan's address at the Truman Presidential Museum & Library on 11 December 2006|his final speech as secretary-general]], delivered at the [[Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum|Harry S. Truman Presidential Library]] in [[Independence, Missouri]], Annan recalled [[President Truman]]'s leadership in the founding of the United Nations. He called for the United States to return to Truman's [[multilateralism|multilateralist]] foreign policies and to follow [[Truman's doctrine]] that "the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world". He also said that the United States must maintain its commitment to human rights, "including in the struggle against terrorism".<ref>{{cite news|title=Annan chides US in final speech|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6169669.stm|work=BBC News|date=11 December 2006|access-date=11 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106103503/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6169669.stm|archive-date=6 January 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Kofi|last=Annan|title=Independence, Missouri, 11 December 2006 – Secretary-General's address at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library followed by Questions and Answers|url=https://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2357|publisher=United Nations|date=11 December 2006|access-date=11 December 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061217080302/http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2357|archive-date=17 December 2006}}</ref>

== Post-UN career ==

After he served as UN secretary-general, Annan took up residence in Geneva and worked in a leading capacity on various international humanitarian endeavours.<ref>{{cite news|title=Annan fühlte sich in der Schweiz zu Hause|url=https://www.derbund.ch/ausland/annan-fuehlte-sich-in-der-schweiz-zu-hause/story/12259977|access-date=18 August 2018|work=[[Der Bund]]|language=de |date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818165331/https://www.derbund.ch/ausland/Annan-fuehlte-sich-in-der-Schweiz-zu-Hause/story/12259977|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Kofi Annan Foundation ===
{{Main|Kofi Annan Foundation}}
In 2007, Annan established the Kofi Annan Foundation, an independent, [[not-for-profit organisation]] that "works to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer, more secure world".<ref>{{cite web |title=How we work: Towards a fairer, more peaceful world |url=https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/our-work/#our-areas-of-work |publisher=Kofi Annan Foundation |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818095114/https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/our-work/#our-areas-of-work |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="mission-statement" />

The organisation was founded on the principles that fair and peaceful societies rest on three pillars: peace and security, [[sustainable development]], and human rights and the rule of law, and they have made it their mission to mobilise the leadership and the political resolve needed to tackle threats to these three pillars ranging from violent conflict to flawed elections and climate change, to achieve "a fairer, more peaceful world".<ref name="mission-statement">{{cite web|title=Mission Statement|url=http://kofiannanfoundation.org/foundation/mission-statement|publisher=Kofi Annan Foundation|access-date=2 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316001041/http://kofiannanfoundation.org/foundation/mission-statement|archive-date=16 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Foundation provides the analytical, communication and co-ordination capacities needed to ensure that these objectives are achieved.{{Promotion inline|date=April 2022}} Annan's contribution to peace worldwide is delivered through mediation, political mentoring, advocacy and advice.{{Promotion inline|date=April 2022}} Through his engagement, Annan aimed to strengthen local and international [[conflict resolution]] capabilities. The Foundation provides the analytical and logistical support to facilitate this in cooperation with relevant local, regional and international actors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gpplatform.ch/pbguide/organisation/kofi-annan-foundation|title=Kofi Annan Foundation – GPPlatform|access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101052503/http://www.gpplatform.ch/pbguide/organisation/kofi-annan-foundation|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Foundation works mainly through [[private diplomacy]], with Annan providing informal counsel and participating in discreet diplomatic initiatives to avert or resolve crises. He was often asked to intercede in crises, sometimes as an impartial, independent mediator, sometimes as a special envoy of the international community. In recent years{{Clarify timeframe|date=April 2022}} he had provided such counsel to Burkina Faso, Kenya, Myanmar, Senegal, Iraq and Colombia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mediation and Crisis Resolution |url=https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/topics/mediation-and-crisis-resolution/ |publisher=Kofi Annan Foundation |access-date=19 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818155152/https://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/topics/mediation-and-crisis-resolution/ |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process ===
Following the [[2007–2008 Kenyan crisis|outbreak of violence]] after the [[2007 Kenyan general election|2007 presidential elections in Kenya]], the [[African Union]] (AU) established the Panel of Eminent African Personalities to assist in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.<ref name="CBSNEWS">{{cite web|title=Kofi Annan Takes Over Kenya Mediation|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kofi-annan-takes-over-kenya-mediation-10-01-2008/|work=CBS News|date=January 10, 2008 |access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818150656/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kofi-annan-takes-over-kenya-mediation-10-01-2008/|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Annan was appointed as chair of the panel, to lead it with [[Benjamin Mkapa]], former [[president of Tanzania]]; and humanitarian [[Graça Machel]], the former first lady of Mozambique and South Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|publisher=South Consulting|date=December 2011|title=The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation: Building a Progressive Kenya|url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Background-Note.pdf|access-date=2022-04-11|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831032912/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Background-Note.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The panel managed to convince the two principal parties to the conflict, Kenyan president [[Mwai Kibaki]]'s [[Party of National Unity (Kenya)|Party of National Unity]] (PNU) and [[Raila Odinga]]'s [[Orange Democratic Movement]] (ODM), to participate in the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDR).<ref name="CBSNEWS" /> Over the course of 41 days of negotiations, [[National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008|several agreements regarding taking actions]] to stop the violence and to remedy its consequences were signed. On 28 February, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga signed a coalition government agreement.<ref name="TTUK">{{cite news|title=Kenya's rival parties reach coalition agreement|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1580171/Kenyas-rival-parties-reach-coalition-agreement.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=18 August 2018|date=28 February 2008|location=Nairobi|first1=Mike |last1=Pflanz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182053/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1580171/Kenyas-rival-parties-reach-coalition-agreement.html|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kenya Rivals Reach Peace Agreement|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/world/africa/29kenya.html|work=The New York Times|date=2008-02-29 |access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818150820/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/world/africa/29kenya.html|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Joint Special Envoy for Syria ===
{{Main|Kofi Annan Syrian peace plan}}

On 23 February 2012, Annan was appointed as the UN and [[Arab League]] joint special envoy to Syria in an attempt to end the [[Syrian civil war|civil war]] taking place.<ref name=SyriaBBC /> He developed a six-point plan for peace:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kofi Annan's six-point plan|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/3/27/kofi-annans-six-point-plan-for-syria|access-date=2022-04-05|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=2012-03-27|archive-date=1 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801182553/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/2012327153111767387.html/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
# commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people, and, to this end, commit to appoint an empowered interlocutor when invited to do so by the Envoy;
# commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilise the country.
#: To this end, the Syrian government should immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres.
#: As these actions are being taken on the ground, the Syrian government should work with the Envoy to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism.
#: Similar commitments would be sought by the Envoy from the opposition and all relevant elements to stop the fighting and work with him to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism;
# ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and to this end, as immediate steps, to accept and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause and to coordinate exact time and modalities of the daily pause through an efficient mechanism, including at local level;
# intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable categories of persons, and persons involved in peaceful political activities, provide without delay through appropriate channels a list of all places in which such persons are being detained, immediately begin organizing access to such locations and through appropriate channels respond promptly to all written requests for information, access or release regarding such persons;
# ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;
# respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.
}}
On 2 August, he resigned as envoy to Syria,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-08-02|title='Main battle' about to begin in Aleppo, UN peacekeeping chief says|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|access-date=2022-04-05|publisher=CNN|language=en|archive-date=19 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619190315/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/02/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|url-status=live}}</ref> citing the intransigence of both the [[Assad government]] and the [[Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad|rebels]], as well as the stalemate on the Security Council as preventing any peaceful resolution of the situation.<ref>{{cite web |title=The United Nations in the Heart of Europe {{!}} News & Media {{!}} Transcript of the Press Conference by JSE Kofi Annan |url=http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/9483586914CF2E3FC1257A4E00589EE7?OpenDocument&cntxt=FA0FE&cookielang=en |publisher=[[United Nations Office at Geneva]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918021154/http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/9483586914CF2E3FC1257A4E00589EE7?OpenDocument&cntxt=FA0FE&cookielang=en  |archive-date=18 September 2012 |date=2 August 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Annan also stated that the lack of international unity and ineffective diplomacy among world leaders had made the peaceful resolution in Syria an impossible task.<ref>{{cite news|last=Black|first=Ian|title=Kofi Annan resigns as Syria envoy|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/02/kofi-annan-resigns-syria-envoy|access-date=3 August 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027171229/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/02/kofi-annan-resigns-syria-envoy|archive-date=27 October 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security ====
Annan served as the chair of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.idea.int/elections/global-commission-2012/|title=Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security &#124; International IDEA|website=idea.int |archive-date=7 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007204738/http://www.idea.int/elections/global-commission-2012/}}</ref> The commission was launched in May 2011 as a joint initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation and the [[International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance]]. It comprised 12 eminent individuals from around the world, including [[Ernesto Zedillo]], [[Martti Ahtisaari]], [[Madeleine Albright]] and [[Amartya Sen]], and aimed to highlight the importance of the integrity of elections to achieving a more secure, prosperous and stable world. The Commission released its final report, ''Deepening Democracy, a Strategy to Improve the Integrity of Elections Worldwide'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.idea.int/publications/deepening-democracy/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=54594|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015080950/http://www.idea.int/publications/deepening-democracy/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=54594|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 October 2014|title=Publications &#124; International IDEA|website=idea.int}}</ref> in September 2012.

=== Rakhine Commission (Myanmar) ===
In September 2016, Annan was asked to lead the [[Advisory Commission on Rakhine State]], Myanmar,<ref name="protesters_greet_annan">{{Cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]]|title=In Myanmar's Troubled Rakhine State, Protesters Greet Kofi Annan|date=2016-09-06|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-myanmars-troubled-rakhine-state-protesters-greet-kofi-annan-1473138653|access-date=2022-04-05|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214507/https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-myanmars-troubled-rakhine-state-protesters-greet-kofi-annan-1473138653|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="panel_head_refutes_2018_07_22_reuters">{{Cite news|date=2018-07-22|title=Myanmar's Rohingya panel head refutes criticism by outgoing secretary|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-panel-idUSKBN1KC07V|access-date=2022-04-05|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405231303/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-panel-idUSKBN1KC07V|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rakhine_commission_rcn">{{Cite web|archive-date=2018-08-19|title=Rohingya Crisis News – OFFICIAL INFO – 4A|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114351/http://home.iwichita.com/rh1/info/rohingya/4/4a.htm#rakhine_commission|access-date=2022-04-13|url=http://home.iwichita.com/rh1/info/rohingya/4/4a.htm#rakhine_commission}}</ref><ref name="kofi_annan_dies_rcn">{{Cite web|archive-date=2018-08-19|title=Rohingya Crisis News – 2018 NEWS – 5C|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114404/http://home.iwichita.com/rh1/info/rohingya/5/5c.htm#kofi_annan_dies|access-date=2022-04-13|url=http://home.iwichita.com/rh1/info/rohingya/5/5c.htm#kofi_annan_dies}}</ref> an impoverished region beset by [[ethnic conflict]] and extreme [[sectarian violence]], particularly by Myanmar's [[Buddhism in Myanmar|Buddhist majority]] against the [[Rohingya people|Rohingya Muslim minority]], further targeted by government forces.<ref>{{cite report |title=Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar |url=https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/G1613541.pdf |website=[[ReliefWeb]] |access-date=13 April 2022 |date=29 Jun 2016 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127124601/https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/G1613541.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="rohingya_face_campaign_of_terror_nytimes_com">{{Cite news|last=Cumming-Bruce|first=Nick|date=2017-02-03|title=Rohingya Face 'Campaign of Terror' in Myanmar, U.N. Finds|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/world/asia/rohingya-myanmar-un-report.html|access-date=2022-04-05|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214524/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/world/asia/rohingya-myanmar-un-report.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="we_will_destroy_2018_06_amnesty_intl">{{Cite news|date=2018-06-27|title=Myanmar: Military top brass must face justice for crimes against humanity targeting Rohingya|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/06/myanmar-military-top-brass-must-face-justice-for-crimes-against-humanity-targeting-rohingya/|access-date=2022-04-05|publisher=[[Amnesty International]]|language=en|archive-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114510/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/06/myanmar-military-top-brass-must-face-justice-for-crimes-against-humanity-targeting-rohingya/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="military_planned_genocide_2018_07_19_nytimes">{{Cite news|date=2018-07-19|title=Myanmar's Military Planned Rohingya Genocide, Rights Group Says (Published 2018)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-genocide.html|access-date=2022-04-05|archive-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114748/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/world/asia/myanmar-rohingya-genocide.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The commission, widely known simply as the "Annan Commission", was opposed by many Myanmar Buddhists as unwelcome interference in their relations with the Rohingya.<ref name="protesters_greet_annan" />

When the Annan Commission released its final report,<ref name="rakhine_commission_rcn" /> the week of 24 August 2017, with recommendations unpopular with all sides, violence exploded in the [[Rohingya conflict]] – the largest and bloodiest [[humanitarian disaster]] in the region in decades – driving most of the Rohingya from Myanmar.<ref name="military_planned_genocide_2018_07_19_nytimes" /><ref name="we_will_destroy_2018_06_amnesty_intl" /><ref name="myanmar_panel_pledges_wash_post">{{Cite news|archive-date=2018-08-19|title=Myanmar panel probing Rohingya crisis pledges independence <!-- The Washington Post-->|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=2018-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182205/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/myanmar-panel-probing-rohingya-crisis-pledges-independence/2018/08/16/6d5c7a2e-a15c-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html|access-date=2022-04-13|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/myanmar-panel-probing-rohingya-crisis-pledges-independence/2018/08/16/6d5c7a2e-a15c-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html?utm_term=.390befdbf42d}}</ref> Annan attempted to engage the United Nations to resolve the matter,<ref>{{Cite web|author=((New York Correspondent))|title=Myanmar has to take back Rohingya refugees, Kofi Annan tells UN Security Council|url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2017/10/14/myanmar-has-to-take-back-rohingya-refugees-kofi-annan-tells-un-security-council|date=2017-10-14|access-date=2022-04-05|website=[[bdnews24.com]]|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214611/https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2017/10/14/myanmar-has-to-take-back-rohingya-refugees-kofi-annan-tells-un-security-council|url-status=live}}</ref> but failed.

Annan died a week before the first anniversary of the report, shortly after an announcement by a replacement commission that it would not "point fingers" at the guilty parties – leading to widespread concern that the new commission was just a sham to protect culpable Myanmar government officials and citizens from accountability.<ref name="kofi_annan_dies_rcn" /><ref name="myanmar_panel_pledges_ap">{{Cite web|date=2018-08-16|title=Myanmar panel probing Rohingya crisis pledges independence|url=https://apnews.com/article/b5d5d4a151d1428bb50a81bf3e72a833|access-date=2022-04-05|website=AP News|language=en|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405231303/https://apnews.com/article/b5d5d4a151d1428bb50a81bf3e72a833|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="myanmar_panel_pledges_wash_post" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Myanmar's New Rohingya Panel Pledges Impartiality in Probe of Atrocities|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/myanmars-new-rohingya-panel-pledges-impariality-in-probe-of-atrocities-08162018162341.html|access-date=2022-04-05|publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]]|date=2018-08-16|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182131/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/myanmars-new-rohingya-panel-pledges-impariality-in-probe-of-atrocities-08162018162341.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, before Annan's death, Myanmar's civilian government, under the direction of State Counsellor [[Aung San Suu Kyi]], made a gesture of acceptance of the Annan commission's recommendations by convening another board – the advisory board for the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State – ostensibly to implement the Annan commission's proposed reforms, but never actually implemented them. Some of the international representatives resigned – notably the panel's secretary, Thailand's former foreign minister [[Surakiart Sathirathai]], and former US ambassador to the UN [[Bill Richardson]] – decrying the "implementation" committee as ineffective, or a "whitewash".<ref name="panel_head_refutes_2018_07_22_reuters" /><ref name="whitewash_2018_01_24_nytimes">{{Cite news|last1=Beech|first1=Hannah|last2=Gladstone|first2=Rick|date=2018-01-25|title=Citing 'Whitewash,' Bill Richardson Quits Rohingya Post|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/world/asia/bill-richardson-myanmar-rohingya.html|access-date=2022-04-05|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819114855/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/world/asia/bill-richardson-myanmar-rohingya.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Other activities ===

==== Corporate boards ====
[[File:Kofi Annan (2018).jpg|thumb|upright|Annan during the [[54th Munich Security Conference]] in February 2018]]

In March 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pehub.com/2011/02/annan-among-investcorp-euro-advisory-board-members/|title=Annan Among Investcorp Euro Advisory Board Members|date=14 February 2011|website=pehub.com|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004152/https://www.pehub.com/2011/02/annan-among-investcorp-euro-advisory-board-members/|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Annan became a member of the [[advisory board]] for [[Investcorp]] Bank B. S. C.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=21185|title=Investcorp Bank B.S.C.: Board of Directors |date=18 March 2018|website=[[Bloomberg News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127083245/https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/board.asp?privcapId=21185|archive-date=27 January 2017|access-date=18 March 2018}}</ref> Europe,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.investcorp.com/?/news-and-media/article/investcorp-hosts-international-investors-conference-in-berlin|title=International Investor Conference in Berlin|date=23 March 2014|location=Bahrain|publisher=[[Investcorp]]|quote=Members of the Investcorp's European Advisory Board, including His Excellency Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Ana Palacio, the former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain and His Excellency Wolfgang Schüssel, the former Chancellor of Austria, discussed the critical issues impacting European and global economies.|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004216/https://www.investcorp.com/?%2Fnews-and-media%2Farticle%2Finvestcorp-hosts-international-investors-conference-in-berlin|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> an international [[private equity]] firm and [[sovereign wealth fund]] owned by the United Arab Emirates. He held the position until 2018.

Annan became a member of the Global Advisory Board of Macro Advisory Partners LLP, a [[risk and strategic consulting]] firm based in London and New York City for business, finance and government decision-makers, with some operations related to Investcorp.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macroadvisorypartners.com/home|title=Strategic advantage in a volatile world|website=macroadvisorypartners.com|quote=[our] Advisors drawn from leadership positions in the worlds of business, finance, politics, diplomacy and technology.|access-date=18 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319004216/http://www.macroadvisorypartners.com/home|archive-date=19 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Non-profit organisations ====

In addition to the above, Annan also became involved with several organisations with both global and African focuses, including the following:

* [[United Nations Foundation]], member of the board of directors (2008–2018)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unfoundation.org/about/board.asp |title=Board of Directors |website=United Nations Foundation |access-date=21 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819142640/http://www.unfoundation.org/about/board.asp |archive-date=19 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[University of Ghana]], chancellor (2008–2018)<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 July 2008|title=Kofi Annan appointed Chancellor of University of Ghana|url=http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=147650|access-date=2022-04-14|website=GhanaWeb|language=en|archive-date=5 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080805012529/http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=147650|url-status=live}}</ref>
* School of International and Public Affairs of [[Columbia University]], global fellow (2009–2018)<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/2011/05/19/kofi-annan-graduation-speech/|title=Kofi Annan Graduation Speech|date=19 May 2011|work=SIPA Admissions|access-date=19 August 2018|publisher=Columbia University|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623175723/http://admissionsblog.sipa.columbia.edu/2011/05/19/kofi-annan-graduation-speech/|archive-date=23 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The Committee on Global Thought at [[Columbia University]], fellow<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cgt.columbia.edu/about/people/committee-fellows/kofi-annan/|title=Kofi Annan|website=Committee on Global Thought|publisher=Columbia University|language=en-US|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624032311/https://cgt.columbia.edu/about/people/committee-fellows/kofi-annan/|archive-date=24 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy]] at the [[National University of Singapore]] (NUS), Li Ka Shing Professor (2009–2018)<ref>{{cite news |title=Kofi Annan joins LKY school |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906063140/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_424801.html |work=[[The Straits Times]] |date=Sep 3, 2009 |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_424801.html |archive-date=6 September 2009}}</ref>
* [[Global Centre for Pluralism]], member of the board of directors (2010–2018)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-visits-ottawa-inaugural-global-pluralism-board-meeting-meets-governor|title=Mawlana Hazar Imam visits Ottawa for inaugural Global Centre for Pluralism board meeting; meets with Governor General of Canada|date=8 October 2010|website=the.ismaili|access-date=19 August 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819214256/https://the.ismaili/news/mawlana-hazar-imam-visits-ottawa-inaugural-global-pluralism-board-meeting-meets-governor|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release|title=In Memoriam – Kofi Annan (1938–2018)|url=https://www.pluralism.ca/press-release/in-memoriam-kofi-annan-1938-2018/|access-date=31 January 2021|publisher=Global Centre for Pluralism|date=August 2018|archive-date=5 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205205001/https://www.pluralism.ca/press-release/in-memoriam-kofi-annan-1938-2018/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Mo Ibrahim]] Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, chairman of the prize committee (2007–2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200704020018.html|title=Kofi Annan is Appointed Chairman of Prize Committee for the Mo Ibrahim Prize|work=[[AllAfrica]]|date=2007-04-02|access-date=19 August 2018}}</ref>
* [[Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa]] (AGRA), chairman (2007–2018)<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2007/06/Kofi-Annan-Appointed-as-Chair-of-the-Board-for-the-Alliance-for-a-Green-Revolution-in-Africa|title=Kofi Annan Appointed as Chair of the Board for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa|publisher=[[Gates Foundation]]|language=en|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820005658/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2007/06/Kofi-Annan-Appointed-as-Chair-of-the-Board-for-the-Alliance-for-a-Green-Revolution-in-Africa|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Global Humanitarian Forum]], founder and president (2007–2018)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-06-29-voa57/404268.html|title=Kofi Annan Launches Global Humanitarian Forum|date=1 November 2009|publisher=[[Voice of America]]|access-date=19 August 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820005712/https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-06-29-voa57/404268.html|archive-date=20 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Global Commission on Drug Policy]], founding commissioner.{{sfn|Mallea|2014|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=JepoAQAAQBAJ|pg=PA32}}|32}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} The commission had declared in a 2011 report that the [[war on drugs]] was a failure.{{sfn|Murphy|2013|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=r-dMAgAAQBAJ|pg=PA319}}|319}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} Annan believed that, since drug use represents a health risk, it should be [[Regulation of therapeutic goods|regulated]], comparing it to the [[Tobacco control|regulation of tobacco]] which reduced smoking in many countries.{{sfn|Reveron|Mahoney-Norris|2018|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=-JBoDwAAQBAJ|pg=PT105}}|105}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

[[File:Ranjit Bhaskar Juba, jan 9, 2011042 - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|Annan during the [[2011 South Sudanese independence referendum|South Sudanese independence referendum]] with fellow elder [[Jimmy Carter]], 2011]]

Annan served as chair of [[The Elders (organization)|The Elders]], a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theelders.org/article/kofi-annan-appointed-chair-elders|title=Kofi Annan appointed Chair of The Elders|website=TheElders.org|date=10 May 2013|access-date=23 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623005759/http://www.theelders.org/article/kofi-annan-appointed-chair-elders|archive-date=23 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theelders.org/kofi-annan|title=Kofi Annan|website=TheElders.org|access-date=6 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306035553/http://theelders.org/kofi-annan|archive-date=6 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2008, Annan and fellow elders [[Jimmy Carter]] and Graça Machel attempted to travel to Zimbabwe to make a first-hand assessment of the humanitarian situation in the country. Refused entry, the Elders instead carried out their assessment from Johannesburg, where they met Zimbabwe- and South Africa-based leaders from politics, business, international organisations, and civil society.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-zimbabwe-politics-annan-idUSTRE4AL19320081122|title=Annan, Carter say barred from Zimbabwe|work=Reuters|date=22 November 2008|access-date=6 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130504143402/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/11/22/us-zimbabwe-politics-annan-idUSTRE4AL19320081122|archive-date=4 May 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2011, following months of political violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Annan travelled to the country with elders [[Desmond Tutu]] and [[Mary Robinson]] to encourage [[National Reconciliation (Afghanistan)|national reconciliation]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theelders.org/article/elders-encourage-plans-truth-and-reconciliation-process-cote-divoire|title=The Elders encourage plans for truth and reconciliation process in Côte d'Ivoire|website=TheElders.org|date=2 May 2011|access-date=6 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214234011/http://www.theelders.org/article/elders-encourage-plans-truth-and-reconciliation-process-cote-divoire|archive-date=14 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 16 October 2014, Annan attended the One Young World Summit in Dublin. During a session with fellow elder Mary Robinson, Annan encouraged 1,300 young leaders from 191 countries to lead on intergenerational issues such as climate change and the need for action to take place now, not tomorrow:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oneyoungworld.com/news/kofi-annan-partners-one-young-world-hold-global-discussion-young-leaders|title=Kofi Annan Partners With One Young World To Hold Global Discussion With Young People|website=oneyoungworld.com |access-date=14 January 2016|date=7 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101052503/http://www.oneyoungworld.com/news/kofi-annan-partners-one-young-world-hold-global-discussion-young-leaders|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv6eMG2QJuQ|title=Kofi Annan – The One Young World Summit 2014|date=17 October 2014|access-date=14 January 2016|via=YouTube|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103070401/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv6eMG2QJuQ|archive-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote| We don't have to wait to act. The action must be now. You will come across people who think we should start tomorrow. Even for those who believe action should begin tomorrow, remind them tomorrow begins now, tomorrow begins today, so let's all move forward.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-young-world/kofi-annan-tells-one-young-world-we-must-tackle-climate-change-now-30670197.html|title=Kofi Annan tells One Young World: 'We must tackle climate change now '|work=Irish Independent|date= 16 Oct 2014 |access-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205155454/http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-young-world/kofi-annan-tells-one-young-world-we-must-tackle-climate-change-now-30670197.html|archive-date=5 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Annan chaired the [[Africa Progress Panel]] (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As chair, he facilitated coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge, in addition to convening decision-makers to influence policy and create lasting change in Africa.{{Promotion inline|date=April 2022}} Every year, the Panel releases a report, the Africa Progress Report,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/en/publications/annual-reports/|title=Africa Progress Panel – Africa Progress Reports|archive-date=23 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123102857/http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/en/publications/annual-reports/}}</ref> which outlines an issue of immediate importance to the continent and suggests a set of associated policies. In 2014, the Report highlighted the potential of African fisheries, agriculture, and forests to drive [[economic development]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://app-cdn.acwupload.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/APP_APR2014_24june.pdf|title=Africa Progress Report 2014|publisher=Africa Progress Panel|access-date=6 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401062157/http://app-cdn.acwupload.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/APP_APR2014_24june.pdf|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2015 report explores the role of climate change and the potential of [[renewable energy]] investments in determining Africa's economic future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://app-cdn.acwupload.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/APP_REPORT_2015_FINAL_low1.pdf|title=Power People Planet: Seizing Africa's Energy and Climate Opportunities|publisher=Africa Progress Panel|access-date=6 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125144301/http://app-cdn.acwupload.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/APP_REPORT_2015_FINAL_low1.pdf|archive-date=25 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

'''Prioritisation of snakebite in the WHO'''

Kofi Annan played a pivotal role in getting a WHO resolution on halving the burden of snakebite in late 2020's.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhaumik |first1=Soumyadeep |last2=Zwi |first2=Anthony B. |last3=Norton |first3=Robyn |last4=Jagnoor |first4=Jagnoor |date=2023-08-01 |title=How and why snakebite became a global health priority: a policy analysis |url=https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/8/e011923 |journal=BMJ Global Health |language=en |volume=8 |issue=8 |pages=e011923 |doi=10.1136/bmjgh-2023-011923 |issn=2059-7908 |pmc=10445399 |pmid=37604596 |access-date=29 August 2023 |archive-date=24 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824061447/https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/8/e011923 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Memoir ===
{{Main|Interventions: A Life in War and Peace}}
On 4 September 2012, Annan with [[Nader Mousavizadeh]] wrote a memoir, ''Interventions: A Life in War and Peace''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Colum|first1=Lynch|title=Kofi Annan's memoir, 'Interventions: A Life in War and Peace'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/kofi-annans-memoir-interventions-a-life-in-war-and-peace/2012/09/21/37138592-eefd-11e1-afd8-097e90f99d05_story.html?noredirect=on|date=2012-09-21|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=18 August 2018|archive-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818150742/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/kofi-annans-memoir-interventions-a-life-in-war-and-peace/2012/09/21/37138592-eefd-11e1-afd8-097e90f99d05_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Published by [[Penguin Group|Penguin Press]], the book has been described as a "personal biography of [[Power (international relations)|global statecraft]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/in-the-news-oates-honored-obama-in-kickassistan|title=In the News: Oates Honored, Obama in Kickassistan|last=Wanger|first=Shoko|date=9 April 2009|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=18 August 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819051043/https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/in-the-news-oates-honored-obama-in-kickassistan|archive-date=19 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
In 1965, Annan married Titi Alakija, a [[Nigerians|Nigerian]] woman from an [[Social class in Nigeria|aristocratic family]]. Several years later, they had a daughter, Ama, and a son, Kojo. The couple separated in the late 1970s,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=No Peace for Kofi|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/11839/index3.html|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=2005-04-22 |access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818182048/http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/11839/index3.html|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and divorced in 1983.<ref name="CNNI">{{cite web|title=Kofi Annan Fast Facts|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/27/world/kofi-annan-fast-facts|publisher=[[CNN International]] |date=2013-06-27 |access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818150746/https://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/27/world/africa/kofi-annan-fast-facts/index.html|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1984, Annan married {{ill|Nane Lagergren|sv}}, a Swedish lawyer at the UN and a maternal half-niece of diplomat [[Raoul Wallenberg]].{{sfn|Akyeampong|Gates (Jr.)|2012|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=39JMAgAAQBAJ|pg=PA238}}|238}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}} She has a daughter, Nina, from a previous marriage.{{sfn|Bagudu|2007|page={{pli|{{GBurl|id=cVLmph0ZmxIC|pg=PA29}}|29}}{{spaces|2|thin}}{{limited access}}}}

Annan was fluent in English, French, [[Akan languages|Akan]], and some [[Kru languages]] as well as other [[Languages of Africa|African language]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theelders.org/elders/kofi-annan |title=Kofi Annan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713233631/http://www.theelders.org/elders/kofi-annan |archive-date=13 July 2010 |publisher=[[The Elders (organization)|The Elders]]}}</ref>

In 2002, Annan was [[enstooled]] by [[Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II]], the Asantehene of Asanteman, as the [[Busumuru]] of the [[Ashanti people]] - a Ghanaian chief. He was the first person to hold this title.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-15|title=Kofi Annan earned 'Busumuru' for his selflessness|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kofi-Annan-earned-Busumuru-for-his-selflessness-685285|access-date=2021-08-16|website=GhanaWeb|language=en|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816045514/https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Kofi-Annan-earned-Busumuru-for-his-selflessness-685285|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Finder Online - Manhyia Palace announces extraordinary funeral rites for Kofi Annan|url=https://www.thefinderonline.com/news/item/14020-manhyia-palace-announces-extraordinary-funeral-rites-for-kofi-annan|access-date=2021-08-16|website=www.thefinderonline.com|language=en-gb|archive-date=16 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816053413/https://www.thefinderonline.com/news/item/14020-manhyia-palace-announces-extraordinary-funeral-rites-for-kofi-annan|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

== Death and state funeral ==
Annan died on the morning of 18 August 2018 in [[Bern]], Switzerland, at the age of 80, after a short illness.<ref name=BBC>{{Cite news|date=2018-08-18|title=Kofi Annan, former UN chief, dies at 80|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45232892|access-date=2022-04-15|archive-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208111947/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45232892|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AJ">{{cite web|title=Former UN chief Kofi Annan dies|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/chief-kofi-annan-dies-180818093156348.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|date= 18 Aug 2018 |access-date=18 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818134022/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/chief-kofi-annan-dies-180818093156348.html|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[António Guterres]], the UN secretary-general, said that Annan was "a global champion for peace" and "a guiding force for good".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-08-18/statement-secretary-general-passing-former-secretary-general-kofi|title=Statement by the Secretary-General on the passing of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan|publisher=United Nations|date=18 August 2018|access-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818214548/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2018-08-18/statement-secretary-general-passing-former-secretary-general-kofi|archive-date=18 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BBC /> [[Prime Minister of Malaysia|Malaysian Prime Minister]] [[Mahathir Mohamad]] also said he was saddened by the death of Annan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-19 |title=Dr Mahathir sad over Kofi Annan's death |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/08/402857/dr-mahathir-sad-over-kofi-annans-death |website=New Straits Times |agency=Bernama |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925172835/https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/08/402857/dr-mahathir-sad-over-kofi-annans-death |archive-date= Sep 25, 2023 }}</ref> His body was returned to his native Ghana from Geneva in a brief and solemn ceremony at the [[Kotoka International Airport]] in Accra, on 10 September.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=September 11, 2018|title=Body of Kofi Annan returned to Ghana for burial|url=https://nation.africa/kenya/news/africa/body-of-kofi-annan-returned-to-ghana-for-burial-86094|access-date=2022-04-15|website=Nation|language=en|archive-date=16 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416002610/https://nation.africa/kenya/news/africa/body-of-kofi-annan-returned-to-ghana-for-burial-86094|url-status=live}}</ref> His coffin, draped in the blue [[UN flag]], was accompanied by his widow Nane, his children and senior diplomats from the international organisation.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofoman.com/article/141067|title=Kofi Annan's body arrives in Ghana for state funeral|work=[[Times of Oman]]|date=September 11, 2018 |access-date=13 September 2018|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914022200/https://timesofoman.com/article/141067|archive-date=14 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 13 September, a [[state funeral]] was held for Annan in Ghana at the [[Accra International Conference Centre]].<ref name=GhanaWeb>{{Cite web|date=2018-08-29|title=UN Sec-Gen. to attend Kofi Annan's funeral in Ghana|url=https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/UN-Sec-Gen-to-attend-Kofi-Annan-s-funeral-in-Ghana-680575|access-date=2022-04-16|website=GhanaWeb|language=en|archive-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829162234/https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/UN-Sec-Gen-to-attend-Kofi-Annan-s-funeral-in-Ghana-680575|url-status=live}}</ref> The ceremony was attended by several political leaders from across Africa as well as [[Ghanaian traditional rulers]], [[European royalty]] and dignitaries from the international community, including the UN secretary-general António Guterres.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/717/final-farewell-uns-kofi-annan-ghana-state-funeral-doc-1924rg1|title=Final farewell to UN's Kofi Annan at Ghana state funeral|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=13 Sep 2018 |access-date=13 September 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913223623/https://www.afp.com/en/news/717/final-farewell-uns-kofi-annan-ghana-state-funeral-doc-1924rg1|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Prior to the funeral service, his body [[Lying in state|lay in state]] in the [[foyer]] of the same venue, from 11 to 12 September.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2018/september-11th/photos-one-last-gaze-at-kofi-annan-as-body-lies-in-state.php|website=myjoyonline.com |date=2018-09-11 |title=Photos: One last gaze at Kofi Annan as body lies in state|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913223413/https://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2018/september-11th/photos-one-last-gaze-at-kofi-annan-as-body-lies-in-state.php|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> A private burial followed the funeral service at the new [[List of cemeteries in Accra|Military Cemetery]] at [[Burma Camp]], with [[full military honours]] and the sounding of the [[Last Post]] by army [[bugler]]s and a [[Salute#Heavy arms: gun salutes|17-gun salute]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/former-un-chief-kofi-annan-to-be-buried-after-state-funeral/2018/09/13/06a1dfae-b73c-11e8-ae4f-2c1439c96d79_story.html|title=Former UN chief Kofi Annan to be buried after state funeral|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2018-09-13|access-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913142111/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/former-un-chief-kofi-annan-to-be-buried-after-state-funeral/2018/09/13/06a1dfae-b73c-11e8-ae4f-2c1439c96d79_story.html|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/13/world/africa/ap-af-ghana-kofi-annan.html|title=Leaders Laud Ex-UN Chief Kofi Annan at Ghana State Funeral|access-date=13 September 2018|date=2018-09-13 |work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913165801/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/13/world/africa/ap-af-ghana-kofi-annan.html|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/world/leaders-laud-chief-kofi-annan-ghana-state-funeral/LzG0wJjt6y9gQOG2S2lnFO/|title=Leaders laud ex-UN chief Kofi Annan at Ghana state funeral|work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|date=2018-09-13 |access-date=13 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913225125/https://www.ajc.com/news/world/leaders-laud-chief-kofi-annan-ghana-state-funeral/LzG0wJjt6y9gQOG2S2lnFO/|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wral.com/former-un-chief-kofi-annan-to-be-buried-after-state-funeral/17839732/|title=Leaders laud ex-UN chief Kofi Annan at Ghana state funeral :: WRAL.com|last=<!-- WRAL -->|publisher=[[WRAL-TV]]|date=2018-09-13 |access-date=13 September 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913172129/https://www.wral.com/former-un-chief-kofi-annan-to-be-buried-after-state-funeral/17839732/|archive-date=13 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Honours and awards ==
{{main|List of awards and honours received by Kofi Annan}}
Annan received numerous awards and accolades including the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 2001, which he shared with the UN "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He was also awarded the [[Four Freedoms Award]] in 2004. Annan declined the [[U Thant Peace Award]] in 2006. In 2010, he received the [[Borlaug Award|Norman E. Borlaug Medallion]] from the [[World Food Prize Foundation]] for his leadership in global food security. Additionally, he was honored with the [[Max Schmidheiny]] Foundation Freedom Prize in 2006. 

== Memorials and legacy ==
The [[United Nations Postal Administration]] released a new stamp in memory of Annan on 31 May 2019.<ref name="stamp">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.int/news/unpa-issues-new-stamp-pay-tribute-kofi-annan|title=UNPA issues new stamp to pay tribute to Kofi Annan|date=31 May 2019|access-date=22 March 2023|archive-date=22 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322182159/https://www.un.int/news/unpa-issues-new-stamp-pay-tribute-kofi-annan|url-status=live}}</ref> His portrait on the stamp was designed by artist [[Martin Mörck]].<ref name="stamp"/> The [[Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre]] and the [[Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT]], both in Accra, are named in his honour. The [[Kofi Annan University of Guinea]] is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ECLBS |date=2023-06-28 |title=List of Universities in Guinea |url=https://www.eclbs.eu/post/list-of-universities-in-guinea |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=ECLBS Organization |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of black Nobel laureates]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
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}}
* {{cite book
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  | title      = Interventions: A Life in War and Peace
  | title-link = Interventions: A Life in War and Peace
  | year       = 2012
  | publisher  = Penguin Press
  | location   = New York
  | isbn       = 978-1-59420-420-3
}}
* {{cite book
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}}
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 |title        = Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law
 |year         = 2005
 |publisher    = Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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 |title      = The New United Nations: International Organization in the Twenty-First Century
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* {{cite book
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}}
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* {{cite book
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 |title       = The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power
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 |isbn        = 978-0-374-18220-5
 |url         = https://archive.org/details/bestintentionsko00trau
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}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bauer |first=Friederike |title=Kofi Annan: Ein Leben |year=2005 |publisher=S. Fischer |isbn=978-3-10-009647-0 |language=de}}
* {{cite book |last=Maurel |first=Chloé |editor1=Bob Reinalda |editor2=Kent J. Kille |name-list-style=and |editor3=Jaci Eisenberg |title=IO BIO, Biographical Dictionary of Secretaries-General of International Organizations |year=2019 |url=http://www.ru.nl/fm/iobio |access-date=2 May 2022 |chapter=ANNAN, Kofi Atta |chapter-url=https://www.ru.nl/publish/pages/816038/annan-ka-4november2019.pdf}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|d=Q1254|wikt=no|b=no|voy=no|v=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|n=Category:Kofi Annan|s=Author:Kofi Annan}}
* {{official website|url=//kofiannanfoundation.org/kofi-annan|name=Kofi Annan Foundation}}
* [https://search.archives.un.org/secretary-general-kofi-annan-1997-2006 Kofi Annan papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004230027/https://search.archives.un.org/secretary-general-kofi-annan-1997-2006 |date=4 October 2018 }} at the United Nations Archives
* {{Nobelprize}} (including Nobel Lecture, 10 December 2001)

'''Speeches'''
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040707045950/http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/pages/statements.html |title=Statements of Secretary-General Kofi Annan |date=dmy}}
* [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/lecture/ Nobel Peace Prize lecture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412015718/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2001/annan/lecture/ |date=12 April 2023 }}

'''Lectures'''
* [http://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Annan.html ''The MacArthur Award for International Justice, 2008''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508154958/http://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Annan.html |date=8 May 2014 }} in the [http://legal.un.org/avl/lectureseries.html Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112205146/http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/ipress2005/ipresscom2005-23_20051107.htm |date=12 November 2006 }}

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