On September 19, 2006, then UN Secretary-General Annan waved after his final speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.(AFP)
(Accra/Geneva) - Kofi Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has died in Switzerland at the age of 80.
The Annan Foundation issued a statement on the 18th saying that Annan passed away in a hospital in the Swiss capital Bern early that morning.The statement said Annan was accompanied by his wife and three children in the days leading up to his death.
Annan was born in Ghana, Africa in 1938, and was still a Ghanaian citizen until his death. He was the first black person to serve as the world's highest-ranking diplomat, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and served two terms.He served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1997 and was also the first Secretary-General from a United Nations official.In 2001, he was re-elected and served until December 31, 2006.
During his tenure as UN Secretary-General, Annan proposed a reform plan to revitalize the United Nations, and also worked to improve the status of women in the Secretariat and build closer partnerships with civil society organizations, the private sector and other non-state actors that benefited the UN's capabilitiesrelation.
In April 2001, Annan issued a five-point call for action to solve AIDS and the epidemic, and proposed the establishment of a global health fund to help developing countries in crisis.On October 12 of the same year, the United Nations and Kofi Annan jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize.
After leaving office, Annan served as the UN special envoy for Syria, seeking a peaceful solution to the local conflict.
