“Kofi Annan is one of the world’s
great moral leaders, was a great Secretary-Genera,l
and is a tireless advocate for the United Nations’
life-saving work on behalf of peace and progress,”
said Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN
Foundation’s Board of Directors. “He
was present at the creation of the United Nations
Foundation, and we are honored that he has accepted
the invitation to join the Board.”
“I am delighted to join Ted Turner and the
remarkable members of the UN Foundation Board
to help advance the UN’s work around the
world. The United Nations is the world’s
platform for solving the great challenges of the
21st century – from war to HIV/AIDS, human
rights to global climate change,” said Kofi
Annan. “The UN Foundation allows people
from all sectors – from all walks of life
– to get involved in helping solve these
problems. I am pleased that my service on the
Foundation’s Board will allow me to continue
to contribute to the UN’s mission of global
peace, prosperity, opportunity, and justice.”
“One of the hallmarks of his tenure as Secretary-General
was opening the UN to enhanced cooperation with
business and civil society. We look forward to
continuing to work with him to engage governments,
NGOs, corporations, and other experts in solving
the great global challenges facing the world,”
said Timothy E. Wirth, President of the UN Foundation.
Kofi Annan was Secretary-General of the United
Nations from 1997 through 2006. He was a UN veteran
who took his first job with the organization in
1962 and held a number of posts, including Deputy
Director to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(1980-83) and Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping
(1995-96). In 2001, Secretary-General Annan and
the United Nations were awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for their work in global peace and cooperation.
He was succeeded on January 1, 2007, by South
Korean Ban Ki-moon.
Former Secretary-General Annan is a native of
Ghana. He graduated from Macalester College in
St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1961. He was a fellow
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's
Sloan School of Management from 1971 to 1972 and
received a Master of Science degree.
Since leaving the United Nations, Kofi Annan has
continued to advocate for better policies to meet
the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable,
particularly in Africa.
About the UN Foundation
The UN Foundation, created in 1998 with entrepreneur
and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic
$1 billion gift to support UN causes and activities,
builds and implements public-private partnerships
that address the world’s most pressing problems.
Its partnerships and campaigns have global reach,
and cut across diverse issue areas, including:
protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainable
development; providing insecticide-treated bed
nets to prevent the spread of malaria in Africa;
and increasing access to technology for international
humanitarian relief and public health workers.
Members of the United Nations Foundation Board
of Directors are: Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah
of Jordan; Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General
of the United Nations; Gro Harlem Brundtland,
Director-General Emeritus, World Health Organization;
Ruth Cardoso, Chair, Comunidade Solidaria; N.R.
Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of
Infosys Technologies Limited; Hisashi Owada, Judge,
International Court of Justice; Emma Rothschild,
Professor of History at Harvard University and
Fellow of King's College, University of Cambridge,
Director of the Joint Center for History and Economics;
Nafis Sadik, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General;
Ted Turner (Chairman), Chairman, Turner Enterprises;
Timothy E. Wirth, President, United Nations Foundation
and Better World Fund; Andrew Young, Chairman,
Good Works International; Yuan Ming, Director
of the Institute of International Relations at
Beijing University; and Muhammad Yunus, Founder,
Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.
