World mourns loss of Annan

The ‘rock star diplomat’ Like an AK-47 assault rifle that was transformed into a guitar, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan left behind a global organization far more aggressively engaged in peacekeeping and fighting poverty. AFP

leaders voiced their admiration for the ex-UN chief and Nobel peace laureate

GENEVA — From his native Africa to the United States, tributes poured in from top leaders around the world Sunday after UN chief, Nobel peace laureate and “diplomatic rock star” Kofi Annan died at the age of 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 United Nations 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 tenure.

Annan “astutely guided the United Nations organisation 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 in a statement.

Annan’s family said he had passed away peacefully on Saturday after a short illness.

Annan, who lived not far from the UN European headquarters in Geneva, died in hospital in the German-speaking part of the country, Swiss news agency ATS reported. AP