March 25, 2003. Copyright, 2003, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Master of Ňconsensus diplomacyÓ faces sternest test
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, March 25, Graphic News:  Kofi Annan doesnŐt do anger -- at least not publicly. Though the United Nations remains at the epicentre of the diplomatic storm over the crisis in Iraq, its secretary general continues to deal with all sides with characteristic calm, focusing on preparations for the humanitarian fallout.

But one could forgive Annan for having thrown in the towel at the unseemly squabbling of the Security Council that preceded the collapse of diplomacy, and the onset of war. And it is almost ironic that the man many consider to be the UNŐs most effective ever secretary general should be presiding amid events that have so undermined the international organisation.

In his inaugural speech in 1997, Ghanian-born Annan vowed to redefine the UNŐs priorities and spearhead a shake-up of the organisation. Straight away he put flesh on this promise by asking the United States to pay up the $1.3 billion it owed. His team set about removing the bureaucratic blocks that prevent UN affairs proceeding at anything other than a glacial pace. 

But Annan has done far more at the UN than balance its books. By the time he became the first black African secretary general, he had already served three decades in several difficult positions, including a stint at the peacekeeping division  during which he tackled crises in Iraq and Asia. Early in 1998 he secured Iraqi cooperation on weapons inspections with a high-profile trip to the area, averting military intervention, although by the end of the year agreements collapsed and Operation Desert Fox followed. In 1999 he brokered the transition of East Timor to independence, and in 2000 IsraelŐs withdrawal from Lebanon.

Indeed, there was a time when it seemed that AnnanŐs considerable personal charm, modesty and tact in handling sensitive states could defuse almost any crisis. In 2001 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Ňbringing new lifeÓ to the United Nations. Annan, who is married to Swedish artist and lawyer Nane Lagegren, used to silence his critics with the reminder that he was not Ňpresident of the worldÓ. Unusually, however, he appeared to seriously offend no one.

Those days have gone -- at least for the time being. Annan still cuts an elegant, youthful figure as he marches briskly through the corridors of power in New York. He still doesnŐt raise his voice. He still doesnŐt do confrontation. He betrays no sign of being a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. But Kofi AnnanŐs biggest test is just beginning.
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