Kofi Annan

From Time's 100 People of the year, 2004:

"If a computer were to design the perfect U.N. Secretary-General, he or she would look something like this: African-born, European and American educated, with decades of service in the U.N. system; married to a European; and possessing a quiet charisma and calm authority as chaos swirls.

"That the U.N. in 1996 found such a person to restore its sense of direction and purpose was a near miracle. ... It is Annan's destiny to be handed the very worst problems, and then only after they have been unsuccessfully addressed by others. Anyone who knows him knows he wades into such problems with his usual blend of courage, self-control, modesty and optimism."

- Richard C. Holbrooke, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., 1999-2001

Find out more! Links:

• Kofi Annan's Biography
• International system reform launched by Annan
• UN Millennium Development Goals

Bob the Angry Flower Cartoon:

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