Born in Kumasi, in the Gold Coast (now Ghana), on 8 April, 1938.
He was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. He was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007.
As the Secretary-General, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy, worked to combat the AIDS virus, especially in Africa, and launched the UN Global Compact.
Annan, along with the UN, was the co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was also the chairman of The Elders, a group founded by Nelson Mandela.
He was fluent in English, French, Akan, some Kru languages and many other African languages.