Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan was born in Fante New Town, an ethnic Fante community in Kumasi in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) on 8 April 1938.{{cite web | url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/20091008561/kofi-annan/ | title=Kofi Annan - Biography | date=8 October 2009 }}{{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 }} His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shared the middle name Atta, which in the Akan language means "twin". Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's Fante aristocratic families; both of their grandfathers and their uncle were Fante paramount chiefs,{{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 }}{{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}} and their brother Kobina would go on to become Ghana's ambassador to Morocco.{{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}}

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.{{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 }} The last name Annan in Asante means fourth-born child. Annan said that his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.{{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}}

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim, an all-boys Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan said that the school taught him that "suffering anywhere, concerns people everywhere".{{Cite web|title=Kofi Annan – Center of the Storm. Life Map. A Chief's Son | 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}} In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from the UK and began using the name "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.{{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}} 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 degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961 to 1962. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management{{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}} (1971–72) in the Sloan Fellows program and earned a master's degree in management.

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.{{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}} 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 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 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.{{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}}{{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.{{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}}{{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}}

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 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 Tutsis. 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."{{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}}

{{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 events in Somalia and the collapse of the UNOSOM II mission fostered a hesitation among UN member states to approve robust peacekeeping operations. As a result, when the 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}}

{{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.{{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 }} 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.{{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 }}{{sfn|Traub|2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bestintentionsko00trau/page/66 66]–67}} Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly,{{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 }} 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 selection.{{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 }} The Security Council recommended Annan for a second term on 27 June 2001, and the General Assembly approved his reappointment on 29 June 2001.{{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 }}

File:President Vladimir Putin with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.jpg at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, 2001]]

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.{{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}}

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 reforms.{{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}}

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.{{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}}

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.{{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}}

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.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}}

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".{{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}} 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. 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.{{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}} Later that same year, the Security Council adopted several provisions relating to peacekeeping following the report, in Resolution 1327.{{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}}

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."{{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}}{{rp|7}}

In the final chapter of the report, Annan called to "free our fellow men and women from the abject and dehumanizing poverty in which more than 1 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}}}}

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",{{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 }} 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.{{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}}

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".{{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}}

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)".{{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}} 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.

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",{{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}} 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,{{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}} 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}}}}

Following the failure of Annan and the international community to intervene in the genocide in Rwanda and 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",{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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?"{{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 }}

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.

In 2005, Annan included the doctrine of "Responsibility to Protect" (RtoP) in his report In Larger Freedom.{{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}} When the UN General Assembly endorsed that report, it amounted to the first formal endorsement by UN member states of the doctrine of RtoP.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}}

In 1998, Annan was deeply involved in supporting the transition from military to civilian rule in Nigeria. The following year, he supported the efforts of 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}} 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".

Annan supported sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan.{{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}} He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one.{{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}} Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on women's rights and other topics.{{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}}

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.{{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}}

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 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.{{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}} On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

Annan appointed the Independent Inquiry Committee,{{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}} which was led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker,{{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}} 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 "scapegoat".{{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}} 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.

{{See also|List of awards and honours received by Kofi Annan}}

In 2001, its centennial year, the Nobel Committee decided that the 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", 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.{{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}}

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".{{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}}

File:Rice and Annan.jpg in 2006]]

Annan defended his deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch Brown,{{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}} 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."{{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}} Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer".

The talk was unusual because it violated the unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticise member nations. 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."{{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}} Observers from other nations supported Malloch's view that conservative politicians in the US prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of US involvement in the UN.{{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}}

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| 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 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.{{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}}

On 11 December 2006, in his final speech as secretary-general, delivered at the 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 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".{{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}}{{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}}

After he served as UN secretary-general, Annan took up residence in Geneva and worked in a leading capacity on various international humanitarian endeavours.{{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}}

{{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".{{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}}

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".{{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}}

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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

Following the outbreak of violence after the 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.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

The panel managed to convince the two principal parties to the conflict, Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) and Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), to participate in the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDR). Over the course of 41 days of negotiations, 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.{{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}}{{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}}

{{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 civil war taking place. He developed a six-point plan for peace:{{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}}

{{blockquote|

1. 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;
2. 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.
3. : 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.
4. : 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.
5. : 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;
6. 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;
7. 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;
8. ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;
9. respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

}}

On 2 August, he resigned as envoy to Syria,{{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}} citing the intransigence of both the Assad government and the rebels, as well as the stalemate on the Security Council as preventing any peaceful resolution of the situation.{{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}} 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.{{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}}

Annan served as the chair of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security.{{Cite web|url=http://www.idea.int/elections/global-commission-2012/|title=Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security | 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/}} 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,{{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 | International IDEA|website=idea.int}} in September 2012.

In September 2016, Annan was asked to lead the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Myanmar,{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}{{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}} an impoverished region beset by ethnic conflict and extreme sectarian violence, particularly by Myanmar's Buddhist majority against the Rohingya Muslim minority, further targeted by government forces.{{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 }}{{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}}{{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}}{{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}} The commission, widely known simply as the "Annan Commission", was opposed by many Myanmar Buddhists as unwelcome interference in their relations with the Rohingya.

When the Annan Commission released its final report, 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.{{Cite news|archive-date=2018-08-19|title=Myanmar panel probing Rohingya crisis pledges independence |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}} Annan attempted to engage the United Nations to resolve the matter,{{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}} 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.{{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}}{{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}}

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".{{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}}

File:Kofi Annan (2018).jpg in February 2018]]

In March 2011,{{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}} Annan became a member of the advisory board for Investcorp Bank B. S. C.{{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}} Europe,{{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}} 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.{{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}}

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){{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}}
• University of Ghana, chancellor (2008–2018){{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}}
• School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, global fellow (2009–2018){{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}}
• The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, fellow{{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}}
• Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Li Ka Shing Professor (2009–2018){{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}}
• Global Centre for Pluralism, member of the board of directors (2010–2018){{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}}{{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}}
• Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, chairman of the prize committee (2007–2018){{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}}
• Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), chairman (2007–2018){{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}}
• Global Humanitarian Forum, founder and president (2007–2018){{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}}
• 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 regulated, comparing it to the 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 with fellow elder Jimmy Carter, 2011]]

Annan served as chair of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues.{{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}}{{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}} 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.{{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}} 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.{{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}} 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:{{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}}{{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}}

{{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.{{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}}}}

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,{{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/}} 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.{{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}} The 2015 report explores the role of climate change and the potential of renewable energy investments in determining Africa's economic future.{{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}}

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.{{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 }}

{{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.{{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}} Published by Penguin Press, the book has been described as a "personal biography of global statecraft".{{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}}

In 1965, Annan married Titi Alakija, a Nigerian woman from an aristocratic family. Several years later, they had a daughter, Ama, and a son, Kojo. The couple separated in the late 1970s,{{cite magazine|title=No Peace for Kofi|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/11839/index3.html|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}} and divorced in 1983.{{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}}

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, and some Kru languages as well as other African languages.{{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}}

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.{{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}}{{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}}

Annan died on the morning of 18 August 2018 in Bern, Switzerland, at the age of 80, after a short illness.{{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}}{{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}} António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said that Annan was "a global champion for peace" and "a guiding force for good".{{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}} Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also said he was saddened by the death of Annan.{{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 }} 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.{{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}} His coffin, draped in the blue UN flag, was accompanied by his widow Nane, his children and senior diplomats from the international organisation.{{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}}

On 13 September, a state funeral was held for Annan in Ghana at the Accra International Conference Centre.{{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}} 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.{{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}} Prior to the funeral service, his body lay in state in the foyer of the same venue, from 11 to 12 September.{{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}} A private burial followed the funeral service at the new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp, with full military honours and the sounding of the Last Post by army buglers and a 17-gun salute.{{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}}{{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}}{{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}}{{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=|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}}

{{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 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.

The United Nations Postal Administration released a new stamp in memory of Annan on 31 May 2019.{{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}} His portrait on the stamp was designed by artist Martin Mörck. 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.{{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}}

• List of black Nobel laureates

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Akyeampong

|first1 = Emmanuel Kwaku

|author1-link = Emmanuel K. Akyeampong

|last2 = Gates (Jr.)

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|author2-link = Henry Louis Gates Jr.

|title = Dictionary of African Biography

|year = 2012

|publisher = OUP USA

|isbn = 978-0-19-538207-5

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ

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|access-date = 21 April 2022

|archive-date = 16 January 2023

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230116105130/https://books.google.com/books?id=39JMAgAAQBAJ

|url-status = live

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Annan

| first1 = Kofi A.

| last2 = Mousavizadeh

| first2 = Nader

| 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

|last1 = Bagudu

|first1 = Richard

|title = Judging Annan

|year = 2007

|publisher = AuthorHouse

|isbn = 978-1-4259-6093-3

|url = {{GBurl|id=cVLmph0ZmxIC}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Bogdandy

|first1 = Armin Von

|author1-link = Armin von Bogdandy

|last2 = Wolfrum

|first2 = Rüdiger

|author2-link = Rüdiger Wolfrum

|last3 = Philipp

|first3 = Christiane E.

|title = Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law

|year = 2005

|publisher = Martinus Nijhoff Publishers

|isbn = 978-90-04-14533-7

|url = {{GBurl|id=EHpHKjM5HnUC}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Gareis

|first1 = Sven Bernhard

|title = The United Nations

|year = 2012

|publisher = Macmillan International Higher Education

|isbn = 978-1-137-00605-9

|url = {{GBurl|id=-NwcBQAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Holbrooke

|first1 = Richard

|author-link = Richard Holbrooke

|title = To End a War: The Conflict in Yugoslavia--America's Inside Story--Negotiating with Milosevic

|year = 2011

|publisher = Random House

|isbn = 978-0-307-76543-7

|url = {{GBurl|id=fFizqu-mHZ0C}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Jr

|first1 = John Allphin Moore

|last2 = Pubantz

|first2 = Jerry

|title = The New United Nations: International Organization in the Twenty-First Century

|year = 2017

|publisher = Taylor & Francis

|isbn = 978-1-317-28843-5

|url = {{GBurl|id=6TMlDwAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = MacQueen

|first1 = Norrie

|title = Humanitarian Intervention and the United Nations

|year = 2011

|publisher = Edinburgh University Press

|isbn = 978-0-7486-8789-3

|url = {{GBurl|id=dcZvAAAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Mallea

|first1 = Paula

|title = The War on Drugs: A Failed Experiment

|year = 2014

|publisher = Dundurn.com

|isbn = 978-1-4597-2290-3

|url = {{GBurl|id=JepoAQAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Meisler

| first1 = Stanley

| title = Kofi Annan: A Man of Peace in a World of War

| year = 2007

| publisher = J. Wiley & Sons

| location = Hoboken, New Jersey

| isbn = 978-0-470-28169-7

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Meisler

| first1 = Stanley

| title = United Nations: A History

| year = 2011

| publisher = Grove Press

| location = New York

| isbn = 978-0-8021-9499-2

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Murphy

|first1 = Craig N.

|title = The Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics

|year = 2013

|publisher = OUP USA

|isbn = 978-0-19-973859-5

|url = {{GBurl|id=r-dMAgAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Myint-U

|first1 = Thant

|author1-link = Thant Myint-U

|last2 = Scott

|first2 = Amy Enid

|title = The UN Secretariat: A Brief History (1945–2006)

|year = 2007

|publisher = International Peace Academy

|isbn = 978-0-937722-99-2

|url = {{GBurl|id=XSsiAQAAIAAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Nwonwu

|first1 = F. O. C.

|title = Millennium Development Goals: Achievements and Prospects of Meeting the Targets in Africa

|year = 2008

|publisher = Africa Institute of South Africa

|isbn = 978-0-7983-0212-8

|url = {{GBurl|id=tYR2s9xeG4oC}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Reveron

|first1 = Derek S.

|last2 = Mahoney-Norris

|first2 = Kathleen A.

|title = Human and National Security: Understanding Transnational Challenges

|year = 2018

|publisher = Routledge

|isbn = 978-0-429-99475-3

|url = {{GBurl|id=-JBoDwAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Richey

|first1 = Lisa Ann

|last2 = Ponte

|first2 = Stefano

|title = Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World

|year = 2011

|publisher = University of Minnesota Press

|isbn = 978-0-8166-6545-7

|url = {{GBurl|id=AA0ZbeZwp7oC}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Souare

|first1 = Issaka K.

|title = Africa in the United Nations System, 1945–2005

|year = 2006

|publisher = Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd

|isbn = 978-1-912234-83-7

|url = {{GBurl|id=JXgoDwAAQBAJ}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|editor-last = Spoor

|editor-first = Max

|title = Globalisation, Poverty and Conflict: A Critical 'Development' Reader

|year = 2006

|publisher = Springer Science & Business Media

|isbn = 978-1-4020-2858-8

|url = {{GBurl|id=ga1uFYKbfdYC}}

|url-access = limited

}}

• {{cite book

|last1 = Traub

|first1 = James

|author-link = James Traub

|title = The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American World Power

|year = 2006

|publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux

|location = New York

|isbn = 978-0-374-18220-5

|url = https://archive.org/details/bestintentionsko00trau

|url-access = registration

}}

{{refend}}

{{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}}

{{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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{{s-diplomatic}}

{{s-bef|before={{flagicon|Egypt}} Boutros Boutros-Ghali}}

{{s-ttl|title=Secretary-General of the United Nations|years=1997–2006}}

{{s-aft|after={{flagicon|South Korea}} Ban Ki-moon}}

|-

{{s-new|office}}

{{s-ttl|title=UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria|years=2012}}

{{s-aft|after=Lakhdar Brahimi}}

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{{Clear}}

{{LN and UN Secretaries-General}}

{{Africa Progress Panel}}

{{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 2001–2025}}

{{2001 Nobel Prize winners}}

{{Freedom Award laureates}}

{{Footer Olof Palme Prize laureates}}

{{Sakharov Prize}}

{{The Elders}}

{{Portal bar|Africa|Politics|Asia|Biography}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annan, Kofi}}

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