Kofi Atta Annan (born 8 April 1938) is a
Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the
2001 Nobel Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world." He is the founder and the Chairman of the
Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as being the chairman of
The Elders, a group founded by
Nelson Mandela.