World pays tribute to Kofi Annan
Former UN chief hailed as a ‘diplomatic rock star’ after death
Geneva — From his native Africa to the US, tributes continued to pour in from around the world on Sunday after former UN chief, Nobel peace laureate and "diplomatic rock star" Kofi Annan died aged 80. The Ghanaian national was a career diplomat who projected quiet charisma and was widely credited for raising the world body’s profile in global politics during his two terms as head of the UN from 1997 to 2006. The first secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa, Annan led the UN through the divisive years of the Iraq war and was later accused of corruption in the oil-for-food scandal, one of the most trying times of his nine-year tenure. Annan "astutely guided the UN into the 21st century, defining an ambitious agenda that had made the UN truly indispensable to peace, prosperity and human dignity around the world", Annan’s successor as UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, said. Annan’s family said he had died peacefully on Saturday after a short illness. Annan, who lived not far from th...
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