End of an Era

Kofi Anan (68), served as UN secretary general for a decade. His term expires on December 31. Anan, son of a tribal chief of Fante, Ghana, Africa, was elected secretary general on the back of active support from the U.S. He was inaugurated in 1997. At first, he seemed to reward the U.S. support with the UN restructuring, the initiative that the U.S. wanted. But toward the end of his tenure, he experienced conflicts with the U.S. over the Iraq war. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.