Oneof the most recognized names in international politics, Kofi Annan,
has died atthe age of 80. Millions around the world are mourning the
death of thesoft-spoken diplomat from Ghana who was the seventh
secretary general of theUnited Nations. He died in Bern, Switzerland,
after an unspecified shortillness. Annan won the Nobel Peace Prize in
2001 and was the first Black Africanto head the United Nations. He
held two successful five-year terms beginning in1997. He held his
position during 10 years of turmoil that challenged the U.N.itself and
redefined its place in a rapidly changing world. During his
tenure,Al-Qaeda hit New York City and Washington, D.C., the U.S.
invaded Iraq andWestern policymakers turned their sights from the cold
war to globalization andthe struggle with Islamic militancy, reports
the New York Times. Annan wascredited with revitalizing the United
Nations’ institutions, shaping what hecalled a new “norm of
humanitarian intervention,” particularly in places wherethere was no
peace for traditional peacekeepers to keep. And he was lauded for
persuadingWashington to unblock arrears that had been withheld because
of the profoundmisgivings about the United Nations voiced by American
conservatives. Histenure was rarely free of debate, however. In 1998,
Annan traveled to Baghdadto negotiate directly with Saddam Hussein
over the status of United Nations weaponsinspections, winning a
temporary respite in the long battle of wills with theWest but raising
questions about his decision to shake hands — and even smokecigars —
with that dictator. In fact, Annan called the 2003 invasion of
Iraqillegal and suffered an acute personal loss when a trusted and
close associate,the Brazilian official Sérgio Vieira de Mello, his
representative in Baghdad,died in a suicide truck bombing in August
2003 that struck the United Nationsoffice there, killing many
civilians. The attack prompted complaints that Annanhad not grasped
the perils facing his subordinates after the ouster of Hussein.While
his admirers praised his courtly, charismatic and measured
approach,Annan was hamstrung by the inherent flaw of his position as
what many peoplecalled a “secular pope” — a figure of moral authority
bereft of the means otherthan persuasion to enforce the high standards
he articulated. Most of Annan’sworking life was spent in the corridors
and conference rooms of the UnitedNations, but he told the author
Philip Gourevitch in 2003, “I feel profoundlyAfrican, my roots are
deeply African, and the things I was taught as a childare very
important to me.”