- Title: FILE: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term in office ends
- Date: 31st December 2006
- Summary: (W3) OSLO, NORWAY (FILE - DECEMBER 10, 2001) (REUTERS) ANNAN WALKING UP TO RECEIVE MEDAL ANNAN RECEIVING MEDAL AND DIPLOMA ANNAN AND FORMER SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAN SEUNG-SOO SHOWING MEDALS AND DIPLOMAS TO THE MEDIA AUDIENCE APPLAUSE
- Embargoed: 15th January 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations,People
- Reuters ID: LVAD7Z07A2GIOZQP0KQYVAQYJ1XE
- Story Text: Once known as a diplomatic 'rock star', Kofi Annan, who leaves office as United Nations secretary-general on Sunday (December 31) after a decade on the job, exudes dignity, compassion and modesty -- qualities that make him easy to romanticise.
Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 2001 jointly shared with the UN. The South Korean Foreign Minister at the time, Han Seung-soo, collected the prize on behalf of the U.N.
But after he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, he faced mounting bad news -- the war in Iraq which he opposed, lingering questions on U.N. scandals, deteriorating ties with the Bush administration and U.S. right-wingers calling for his head.
Annan, a 68-year-old Ghanaian and career U.N. official, lists his main achievements as establishing the concept of a responsibility to protect civilians when their rulers will not or cannot. He also ranks high his struggle against poverty.
His worst moments, Annan said, included not being able to stop the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur, the oil-for-food debacle and the Iraq war, after which he lost his voice for months.
Then came the most painful event -- the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on August 19, 2003 that killed 22 people after Annan had decided, at the urging of the United States, to send senior U.N. staff back to Iraq.
"It hit me almost as much as the loss of my twin sister," Annan told his last news conference, his voice choking. Efua Annan died of an illness in 1991.
In 2003, the oil-for-food scandal also broke, with Saddam Hussein having bilked the $64 billion USD program designed to relieve the pain of U.N. sanctions on ordinary Iraqis. The sanctions were imposed after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait.
While few U.N. officials were accused of enriching themselves, the world body was blamed for lax management and not blowing the whistle on Saddam's tactics.
Annan admitted mismanagement and said the "scandal, if any, was in the capitals and with the 2,200 companies that made a deal with Saddam behind our backs." The affair was the subject of an 18-month inquiry, headed by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
But critics say the world body underestimated the seriousness of the scandal as well as questions that remain to this day about Annan's son, Kojo, who worked for a firm that received a large contract under the program.
"I was well aware that among the more seriously allegations was the insinuation that I myself might have improperly influenced the process, the procurement process, in favour of Cotecna Inspection Services, because that company employed my son, but I knew that to be untrue and I was therefore absolutely confident that a thorough inquiry would clear me of any wrong-doing - the committee has now done so," Annan told reporters in a response to the Independent Commission's presentation of its interim report on March 29, 2005.
Annan was the Clinton administration's candidate after it vetoed his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, citing a lack of U.N. reform -- the same charge made against Annan.
With his dazzling Swedish wife Nane, Annan had been -- and often still is -- the subject of admiration throughout the world. But his ties with Washington ran hot and cold after the Iraq war and his relations with ex-U.S. Ambassador John Bolton bordered on hostile.
In his last year in office, he regained his confidence, negotiating Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, criticising the United States for unilateralism, rebuking supporters of the Palestinians for tying up the U.N. General Assembly with endless resolutions and chastising everyone for lack of action in Sudan's Darfur region.
"Sadly, once again the biggest challenge comes from Africa - from Darfur, where the continued spectacle of men, women and children driven from their homes by murder, rape and the burning of their villages makes a mockery of our claim, as an international community, to shield people from the worst abuses," Annan said in his farewell address to global leaders on September 19.
At incoming UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon's swearing in ceremony Annan said that he felt he was leaving the organisation in safe hands.
"I depart convinced that today's United Nations does more than ever before. It does it better than ever before. Yet, our work is far from complete. Indeed, it will never be. It falls to my successor to carry forward the U.N.'s valuable mission. From the contacts I've had with him, I already know that you have chosen well. Our organisation will be in safe hands".
South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the eighth U.N. secretary-general on December 14, pledging to be a "bridge-builder" and lead a dynamic and courageous United Nations when he takes over on January.
PROFILES - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None