UN staff, diplomats eulogise Kofi Annan
US Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac signs the condolence book to pay tribute to the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan at the UN offices in Kampala yesterday. On the left is UNDP Resident Coordinator Rosa Malango. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE
Kampala- United Nations staff and foreign diplomats accredited to Uganda yesterday joined the rest of the world to pay special tribute to Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, who died in Switzerland last Saturday. He was 80.
In Kampala, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator held a memorial attended by foreign legates, select UN staff and civil society representatives “to commemorate” the accomplishments of the Nobel peace laureate and his stewardship of the world body from 1997 to 2006.
Ms Rosa Malango, the UN resident coordinator, described Annan as an “exceptional man” whose legacy “will remain a true inspiration to everyone in the UN system”.
“He was someone we all looked up [to] for inspiration in our work, and many turned [to] for advice and wisdom,” Ms Malango, who supervises UN agencies in the country, said.
The United States Ambassador to Uganda, Ms Deborah Malac, said Annan was a “man who embodied full commitment to peace” regardless of “what is going on in the world: not just here in Uganda, but including in my home.”
Ms Unnur Orradaottir, the Iceland envoy, described the deceased UN chief and Ghanian diplomat as an “excellent example to follow”.
Annan made a special bond with Sweden having married Swedish lawyer Nane Lagergren, his second wife, 34 years ago, recounted Samuel Bremell, the First Secretary at the Swedish embassy in Kampala.
Annan replaced Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali whose pursuit of a second term failed after the US vetoed it in 1996.
According to the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper, Annan’s approach to personal diplomacy was a study in contrast to his immediate predecessor, Boutros-Ghali, whose imperious character had antagonised member countries to such an extent that the UN Security Council refused him a second term and instead sought out a “safe pair of hands”.
The Ghanaian diplomat joined the UN in 1962 through the World Health Organisation and worked his way up the top echelons of the organisation.
Following retirement in December 2006, he remained vibrant in international undertakings, including, among others, through his Kofi Annan Foundation and leading a panel that arbitrated warring factions in Kenya after the 2007 post-election violence.
