Heads Of State Arrive For Kofi Annan's Burial

Namibian President Hage Geingob, Wednesday, arrived ahead of the State Funeral and Burial Service of Kofi Atta Annan, the Seventh United Nations Secretary-General, on Thursday, September 13.

His arrival was preceded by that of the Angolan Vice President, Bornito Sousa Baltazar Diogo.

A number of heads of state have confirmed their participation in bidding an eternal farewell to the Global Peace Icon and humanitarianilist.

Meanwhile, at the Accra International Conference Centre, Kofi Annan's widow, Nane Maria Lagergren, their children: Kofi, Amma and Nina, are seated with rest of his family to receive co-mourners as well as sympathisers.

Dignitaries and members of recognised bodies continue to file past the mortal remains of Ghana's distinguished son, in a solemn atmosphere, to pay their last respects.

They include Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, chiefs, diplomats, the executive and some senior members of the Ghana Journalists Association, top politicians and members of the Mfantispim Old Boys Association, his fellow alumni.

Mr Annan passed away on August 18, 2018, in the Swiss city of Berne, after a brief illness. He and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Born in Kumasi, he joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organization's (WHO) Office in Geneva.

He then went to serve in various capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as Under Secretary-General for peacekeeping from March 1992 to December 1996.

He was appointed the UN Chief in December 1996 by the Security Council and later confirmed by the General Assembly, becoming the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself.

The late Annan was re-elected for a second term in 2001 and was succeeded by South Korea's Ban Ki-moon on January 01, 2007.

As Secretary-General, he worked to reform the UN bureaucracy, combat the deadly HIV spread, especially in Africa and launched the UN Global Compact.

After serving out his term, he formed the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development.

He was also the Chairman of 'The Elders', an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

In 2012, Mr Annan was the UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to aid efforts at resolving the bloody conflict there but quit over his frustration with the lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution.

He was appointed to lead a UN Commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis in September 2016.

He studied Economics at Macalester College - International Relations from the Graduate Institute Geneva and Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

GNA
By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA