Kofi Annan

Stanley Meisler

Description

In this thoughtful, balanced biography, former Los Angeles Times foreign and diplomatic correspondent Stanley Meisler traces Kofi Annan’s unconventional rise from optimistic student to striving personnel and budget specialist in the United Nations bureaucracy to full-time manager of the world’s crises. The book presents a unique portrait of this widely admired leader, with Annan’s own view of events tempered and augmented by those of his allies and opponents, defenders and detractors.
Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1 Ghana and America.

2 Through the UN System.

3 The Grand Illusion of the First Persian Gulf War.

4 In the Footsteps of Ralph Bunche.

5 Peacekeeping.

6 The Stain of Rwanda.

7 Charade over Bosnia.

8 Supplanting Boutros-Ghali.

9 The New Secretary-General.

10 Intervention: Kosovo and East Timor.

11 The Nobel Peace Prize.

12 Interlude in Vienna and Africa.

13 Facing the American Juggernaut.

14 Relevance and Melancholia.

15 Oil for Food and Kojo.

16 The Year of Summing Up.

Kofi Annan’s Nobel Peace Prize Lecture.

Chronology.

Sources.

Index.

Sujets

• Political
• Lettres et linguistique
• UN
• Organización de las Naciones Unidas
• Biography
• United Nations
• Autobiography
• Kofi Annan
• Organisation des Nations unies
• Ghana

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 18 mai 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780470441664
• Langue: English

Extrait

Kofi Annan

Also by Stanley Meisler

United Nations: The First Fifty Years
Kofi Annan
A Man of Peace in a World of War
STANLEY MEISLER
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Copyright 2007 by Stanley Meisler. All rights reserved
Photo credits: pages 187 top, 190 top, 192, 193 bottom, and 194: private collection of Kofi and Nane Annan; pages 187 bottom, 188, and 189: UN Photo/DPI; page 190 bottom: UN Photo/Milton Grant; pages 191, 195, 196 bottom, and 197 top: UN Photo/Evan Schneider; pages 193 top and 198: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe; pages 196 top and 197 bottom: UN Photo/Mark Garten
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Meisler, Stanley. Kofi Annan : a man of peace in a world of war / Stanley Meisler. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-471-78744-0 (cloth) ISBN 987-0-470-28169-7 (paper) 1. Annan, Kofi A. (Kofi Atta) 2. United Nations-Biography. 3. Statesmen-Ghana-Biography. 4. World politics-1989- I. Title. D839.7.A56M45 2006 341.23092-dc22 [B]
2006021032
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Elizabeth
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Ghana and America
2 Through the UN System
3 The Grand Illusion of the First Persian Gulf War
4 In the Footsteps of Ralph Bunche
5 Peacekeeping
6 The Stain of Rwanda
7 Charade over Bosnia
8 Supplanting Boutros-Ghali
9 The New Secretary-General
10 Intervention: Kosovo and East Timor
11 The Nobel Peace Prize
12 Interlude in Vienna and Africa
13 Facing the American Juggernaut
14 Relevance and Melancholia
15 Oil for Food and Kojo
16 The Year of Summing Up
Kofi Annan s Nobel Peace Prize Lecture
Chronology
Sources
Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Secretary-General Kofi Annan helped me immensely by passing the word to associates and friends that this project has his blessing and they should not hesitate to talk with me. Over the years, he has always been generous to me with his time. I am indebted to him, both for this book and for helping me understand the UN.
The book could not have been written without the help of Frederic Eckhard, the secretary-general s former spokesman. I have worked with Fred for more than fifteen years. He is one of the world s most unique press officers, for he is completely incapable of spinning. He only knows how to hand out the truth in all its nuances. As spokesman, his only concern was that the press understand the UN and the secretary-general. Fred supported this project from the beginning and helped guide the proposal through bureaucratic thickets until it reached the desk of the secretary-general and received his promise of cooperation. When Eckhard retired, he asked his successor, St phane Dujarric, to continue offering me the help of the office of the spokesman.
Dujarric and several members of his team-Catharine Smith, Jane Gaffney, and Maricel Magas-Sniffen-were always helpful. Maricel, in fact, was invaluable. She searched for facts and figures for me, hunted down photos, and organized appointments with the secretary-general. Dujarric s deputy, Marie Okabe, served as the press officer on my trip to Africa in 2002 and made sure that I was treated as if I were a member of the secretary-general s staff. I also owe much to photographer Eskinder Debebe and librarian Anahit Turabian in the UN photo department for their help in putting together a gallery of photos for this book.
More than three dozen people served as sources of information about events in the life of the secretary-general. They included UN officials, academics, diplomats, journalists, and friends and family of the secretary-general. They communicated with me in person and by telephone, e-mail, and fax. Almost all spoke on the record all the time. In fact, none of the original quotes in the book is anonymous. These source include:
Keek Sugawara Abe, Georges Abi-Saab, Akipataki Akiwumi-Thompson, Kobina Annan, Diego Arria, Francis Bartels, Catherine Bertini, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Virendra Dayal, Karen de Young, Stephane Dujarric, Fred Eckhard, Maggie Farley, Ahmad Fawzi, Marrack Goulding, David Lanegan, Evelyn Leopold, Susan Linnee, Edward C. Luck, Colum Lynch, Tyler Marshall, Edward Mortimer, Roger K. Mosvick, William L. Nash, Thomas R. Pickering, Julia Preiswerk, Kieran Prendergast, Iqbal Riza, Barbara Roddick, James P. Rubin, Muhamed Sacirbey, William Shawcross, Lamine Sise, Theodore C. Sorensen, James S. Sutterlin, Shashi Tharoor, Brian Urquhart, and Juan Antonio Ya ez-Barnuevo.
Of course, many more people have helped me understand the workings of the United Nations. I depended on them while covering the UN for the Los Angeles Times during the 1990s. Most are listed in my history United Nations: The First Fifty Years .
But I would like to mention two: An old friend, ngel Vi as, a distinguished Spanish historian, served as the European Union s ambassador while I covered the UN. He helped guide me through some confusing times. Since then, he has published a memoir, which includes a perceptive section about his time at the UN. The book, Al Servicio de Europa: Innovaci n y Crisis en la Comisi n Europea , was published by Editorial Complutense in Madrid in 2004.
Anthony Goodman, who served as a Reuters correspondent at the UN for two decades, died in May 2006 during his retirement. Tony, who had an encyclopedic knowledge of UN history, was a continual fount of kindness and information for me.
I was fortunate to be invited to two very useful conferences. Jean E. Krasno, who is editing the official papers of Annan, invited me to a conference of scholars and UN officials discussing key events and issues of the Annan years. Krasno, who teaches political science at both Yale University and the City College of New York, led the conference, which was held on November 11, 2005, at the Pocantico Conference Center on the old Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown, New York. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund sponsored the meeting.
The secretary-general invited me to a retreat and conference on April 28 and 29, 2006, at the Whitney Conference Center on the Greentree Foundation grounds (the former home of John Hay Whitney) in Manhasset, New York. Scholars, diplomats, UN officials, and journalists took part in these meetings, which attempted to assess Annan s ten years as secretary-general. John Ruggie, professor of international affairs at Harvard University s Kennedy School, chaired the meetings, which were sponsored by the Greentree Foundation.
I am also indebted to my agent, Scott Mendel, whose enthusiasm revived a dormant project. He also suggested the title of this biography. Hana Lane more than lived up to her distinguished reputation as an editor. She used her pencil with great insight and intelligence. John Simko directed the production of the book with painstaking care.
My son and daughter-in-law, Joshua and Elodie, who acted as my agents in Paris, arranged vital interviews for me in France, took part in the delightful session with Kofi Annan s old schoolmaster Francis Bartels, and handled all logistics. Joshua also joined Sam, Gabriel, and Jenaro in solving all my frustrating computer problems. I also had a large family cheering section, including Julie, Hunter, Sarah, Patricia, Sophia, Mike, Ronella, Luke, Jake, Claire, and Mich le.
Authors usually post a paragraph here about a long-suffering wife. But my wife, Elizabeth Fox, handles so much with such good cheer and aplomb that it is hard to think of her as suffering. She manages me, the house, the kids, the extended family, a spectacular cuisine, a myriad of outside activities, and her responsible position at the U.S. Agency for International Development with great ease. This book is dedicated to her with love and awe.
Introduction

I n the presence of King Harald V of Norway and two dozen former laureates, UN secretary-genera