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UN pays tribute to Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan passed away last month after a short illness at the age of 80.
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The United Nations General Assembly has paid tribute to late Secretary General, Kofi Annan in a moving two-hour tribute.

The global statesman passed away last month after a short illness, aged 80 .

The event featured a number of speakers including current and former UN Chiefs, former colleagues and members of the Annan family.

Former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon says, “He was a diplomat but also a very inspirational leader and he was always thinking of how he could inspire courageous leadership in others so that they could go on to overcome human suffering to right the wrongs in the world. This is what he continued to do right up until the very end of his brilliant life.”

Leading world figures and members of Annan’s family have also paid tribute to the late United Nations secretary general at an event in the UN General Assembly in New York.

Among those who praised Annan was former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who was also Irish President and a colleague of Annan among the Elders group.

Robinson says, “Kofi led the UN through some of most difficult times in its history, Rwanda Srebrenica, the Gulf War and 911, it was a time when the organisation’s continued relevance was being continually challenged as the new millennium dawned. This must have been a huge professional burden, such a formidable task with tremendous personal pressure and yet Kofi steered the UN through this period with assured calmness, grace and dignity. He left the organisation with a sense of purpose, a vision and a mission that he was struggling to define or defend when he arrived.”

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