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Kofi Atta Annan of Ghana, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, was born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938, Mr. Annan studied at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and completed his undergraduate work in economics at Macalester College in the United States in 1961.

From 1961 to 1962, he undertook Post-graduate studies in economics at the Institut universitaire des hautes études internationales in Geneva. As a 1971- 1972 Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mr. Annan received a Master of Science degree in management.

He is the first UN Secretary-General to be elected from the ranks of UN staff. His first five-year term began on 1 January 1997 and, following his subsequent re-appointment by the UN Member States, he began a second five-year term on 1 January 2002.

Mr. Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organization in Geneva, where he later also served with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. At UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Annan held senior positions in a diverse range of areas, including human resources management (1987-1990), budget and finance (1990-1992), and peacekeeping (March 1992-December 1996). He was Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping at a time when nearly 70,000 military and civilian personnel were deployed in UN operations around the world.

After leaving the United Nations in 2007, Mr. Annan set up the Kofi Annan Foundation, a vehicle through which he has continued to pursue his global causes.

Mr. Annan has received honorary degrees from universities in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, as well as a number of other prizes and awards for his contributions to the aims and purposes of the United Nations. In 2001, he alongside the United Nations received the Nobel Peace Price for his work in promoting world peace.

He is fluent in English, French and several African languages. He is married to Nane Annan, of Sweden, a lawyer and painter. Two issues of particular concern to her are HIV/AIDS and education for women. She has also written a book for children about the United Nations. The Annans have three children.

SOURCE: www.imanueljannah..com