media releases - Honorary doctorate of the former Secretary General of the United

The University of South Africa will be conferring an honorary doctorate on the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, on Thursday 17 July. The ceremony will take place at 18:00 in the ZK Matthews Great Hall, Theo van Wijk Building, main campus, Preller Street, Pretoria.

The commendation refers to a golden thread running through Mr Annan’s achievements:

• Two years after his appointment as Secretary-General, Mr Annan published a report called “We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century”, where he outlined a progressive plan which UN member states could follow to bring an end to poverty and inequality, improve education, reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS – which he regarded as a ‘personal priority’ – and protect the environment and humanity from violence. This plan is alleged to have led to and constitute the basis of the Millennium Declaration.
• There is also general consensus that Mr Annan has ‘very strong anti-war feelings” which have translated beyond seeking to avoid and prevent overt conflict between nations to a renowned engagement in the areas of refugees and peacekeeping; as well as hostage negotiations.

Kofi Annan was the seventh Secretary General of the United Nations and only the second African to hold that office. His tenure in office extended from 1997 to 2006. However, Mr Annan’s service at the UN spanned a period of almost 40 years. He began working for the World Health Organisation in 1962 and, except for a brief interlude between 1974 and 1976, he spent his entire working career in the4 United Nations, serving it in various capacities and ascending through its ranks.

Born in the central Ghanaian town of Kumasi, Kofi Annan completed his schooling in Ghana and then proceeded to Macalester College in St Paul, Minnesota, United States of America, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1961 and later a qualification in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1972, in the spirit of lifelong learning, he obtained an MSc (Management) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

Mr Annan’s credibility as a person is attested to by the many honours and awards bestowed upon him all over the world, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 which he shared with the United Nations “for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world”. He is also the recipient of over 20 honorary degrees and a number of national awards from the US, Europe, Asia and his home country of Ghana.