August 26
The former Chief of United Nations Organization, Kofi Annan died in a Swiss hospital in the early hours of Saturday at the age of 80.
After rising through the ranks of the United Nations, Annan served two terms as U.N. Secretary-General in New York from 1997-2006 and retired to live in a Swiss village in the Geneva countryside.
As the man will be laid to rest on 13 September in Ghana, we take a look at ten of his most famous sayings:
1. “Peace is never a perfect achievement”
2. “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”
3. “When women thrive all of society benefits and succeeding generations are given a better start in life.”
4. “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”
5. “We may have different religions, different coloured skin, but we all belong to one human race.”
6. “We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if only we can find the political will.”
6. “If one is going to err, one should err on the side of liberty and freedom.”
7. “I am often asked what can people do to become a good global citizen. I reply that it begins in your own community.”
8. “Invite politicians to dinner and let them tell the world how delicious it is. They will proudly go around and say, ‘I ate crickets, I ate locusts, and they were delicious.”
9. “The happiness of any society begins with the well-being of the families that live in it.”
10.”The world is not ours to keep. We hold it in trust for future generations.”