By
Belinda Ayamgha, GNA
Accra, Sept. 12, GNA – Four more dignitaries
have arrived in Accra, ahead of the burial of the Former United Nations (UN)
Secretary-General, Kofi Atta Annan, on Thursday.
Mr Anthonio-Guterres, the United Nations
Secretary-General, Ethiopian President, Dr Mulatu Teshone, accompanied by his
wife and entourage, Thani Hamid Khalifa Hamad Al-Thani, brother of the Prince
of Qatar, and Mr Brigi Rafini, Prime Minister of Niger, arrived on Wednesday
evening.
They were received by Mr Samuel Kumah, the
Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Other dignitaries have also arrived via
commercial flights at the VVIP lounge of the Kotoka International Airport.
Earlier the Angolan and Namibia presidents
arrived with their entourage. Several others are expected later tonight
including President of Equatorial Guinea, Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix
of the Netherlands and Mabel, her daughter-in-law.
Mr Annan passed away on August 18, 2018 in the
Swiss capital of Berne after a brief illness. He and the UN were the
co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.
Born in Kumasi, he joined the UN in 1962,
working for the World Health Organization (WHO) Office in Geneva.
He then went to serve in various capacities at
the UN Headquarters including serving as Under Secretary-General for
Peacekeeping from March 1992 to December 1996.
He was appointed the UN Chief in December 1996
by the Security Council and later confirmed by the General Assembly, becoming
the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself.
Mr Annan was re-elected for a second term in
2001 and was succeeded by South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon on January 01, 2007.
As Secretary-General, he worked to reform the
UN bureaucracy, combat the deadly HIV spread, especially in Africa, and
launched the UN Global Compact.
After serving his term, he formed the Kofi
Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development.
He was also the Chairman of “The Elders,” an
international organisation founded by Nelson Mandela.
GNA