Kofi Annan

It was April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, on the Gold Coast, which would become Ghana.

That day, two children were born. A boy, Kofi. A girl, Efua. Twins.

The boy went to Mfantsipim School. There he learned a simple idea:

He studied in Kumasi, then crossed the ocean. In 1961, he finished a degree in economics at Macalester College, in the United States. The following year, he was in Geneva.

In 1962, he joined the United Nations. He started at the World Health Organization, in Geneva. Later he worked for refugees, at the High Commissioner's office.

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. Kofi Annan helped bring home international staff and Western citizens stranded in Iraq.

In March 1992, he took charge of peacekeeping. Soon, nearly 70,000 people were deployed around the world.

In 1994, in Rwanda, a genocide took place. Kofi Annan was criticized for his response.

Ten years later, in 2004, he acknowledged that he could have, and should have, done more to sound the alarm and rally support.

On January 1, 1997, he became Secretary-General of the United Nations. It was the first time someone from the organization's own staff had been chosen for the post.

He wanted to bring the UN closer to the people.

In September 2000, the countries of the world adopted the Millennium Declaration. It was put into practice as the Millennium Development Goals.

In April 2001, he issued a call. He proposed a global fund for AIDS and health. HIV/AIDS was, he said, his "personal priority."

In 2001, the Nobel Committee gave the Peace Prize to him and to the United Nations, together.

On January 1, 2002, he began a second term.

In 2005, in a report titled "In Larger Freedom," he championed the responsibility to protect.

In 2007, he created his foundation.

In Kenya, after the 2007 elections, he chaired the African Union panel that helped negotiate a coalition government.

In 2012, he agreed to serve as UN and Arab League envoy to Syria. In August, he resigned.

He also chaired The Elders.

He died on August 18, 2018, in Bern, Switzerland. He was 80.

On September 13, 2018, Ghana gave him a state funeral in Accra.

Kofi Annan came from a family of the Asante aristocracy, with its own traditions. His life echoes Ubuntu, without being the same: suffering, wherever it is, concerns everyone.

In a school on the Gold Coast, a boy had learned that the suffering of others was his concern.

He spent his life knocking on the world's doors to say so.