23 Quotes & Sayings By Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who has served as Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997–2006) and as Chair of the African Union (2001–2006). He is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Born in Kumasi, Annan studied Economics at Macalester College, Minnesota, and received a PhD from the London School of Economics. After being part of UN Missions in India and Lebanon, he joined the World Bank as a senior staff member in 1968 Read more

In 1971, Annan became Secretary-General's Personal Representative to the League of Arab States and was closely involved with the Yom Kippur War. He became Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations in 1986, and Deputy Secretary-General at the UN in 1992. Thereafter he served as UN envoy to Iraq during Operation Provide Comfort from 1991–1992, and then to Cambodia from 1992–1993.

In 1993, he co-chaired an independent commission on UN reform. In 1997, he was elected Secretary-General by the Security Council with all five permanent members supporting his candidacy.

1
More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that is why we have the United Nations. Kofi Annan
2
If you have a problem and you can't find a solution, you meet again tomorrow and you keep talking until you find a solution. You can disagree with behavior or a particular position, but you do not resort to calling an opponent worthless. Kofi Annan
3
Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated. Kofi Annan
4
Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. Kofi Annan
5
You can do a lot with diplomacy, but with diplomacy backed up by force you can get a lot more done. Kofi Annan
6
Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.. Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential. . Kofi Annan
7
Business, labor and civil society organizations have skills and resources that are vital in helping to build a more robust global community. Kofi Annan
8
We need to keep hope alive and strive to do better. Kofi Annan
9
We cannot wait for governments to do it all. Globalization operates on Internet time. Governments tend to be slow moving by nature, because they have to build political support for every step. Kofi Annan
10
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance. Kofi Annan
11
More countries have understood that women's equality is a prerequisite for development. Kofi Annan
12
The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What impact could it have? These are questions leaders I have spoken to have posed. Kofi Annan
13
Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. Kofi Annan
14
In the 21st century, I believe the mission of the United Nations will be defined by a new, more profound awareness of the sanctity and dignity of every human life, regardless of race or religion. Kofi Annan
15
There is no development strategy more beneficial to society as a whole - women and men alike - than the one which involves women as central players. Kofi Annan
16
More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations. Kofi Annan
17
Open markets offer the only realistic hope of pulling billions of people in developing countries out of abject poverty, while sustaining prosperity in the industrialized world. Kofi Annan
18
I urge the Iraqi leadership for sake of its own people... to seize this opportunity and thereby begin to end the isolation and suffering of the Iraqi people. Kofi Annan
19
Many African leaders refuse to send their troops on peace keeping missions abroad because they probably need their armies to intimidate their own populations. Kofi Annan
20
On climate change, we often don't fully appreciate that it is a problem. We think it is a problem waiting to happen. Kofi Annan
21
The Lord had the wonderful advantage of being able to work alone. Kofi Annan
22
We need to think of the future and the planet we are going to leave to our children and their children. Kofi Annan