United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will speak at commencement exercises June 21 at Ryan Field, Northwestern administrators announced Wednesday.
Annan also will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the ceremony, said John Margolis, associate provost for faculty affairs. Margolis said he is pleased that Annan will speak during the exercises.
“I am informed by (Annan’s) office that he receives a large number of invitations and that he can accept a very, very small handful each year,” Margolis said. “The administration and the committee on honorary degrees are always seeking distinguished people to come join us at commencement. An invitation was extended to the secretary-general, and we are delighted that he accepted.”
Annan spoke at Stanford University’s commencement exercises in 2000 and at the exercises of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 2001.
In 1994, then-President Bill Clinton was scheduled to speak at NU but canceled, and playwright Charles Johnston spoke instead.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was slated to speak at commencement exercises in 1999, but canceled two days prior to the ceremony. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky spoke instead. Best-selling author Scott Turow spoke at last year’s ceremony.
Annan, who became secretary-general in 1997, is the first head of the U.N. from within the organization’s staff and the first black African in the post. In June 2001, all 189 members of the U.N. voted to re-appoint him to another five-year term.
Annan and the U.N. jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for their work toward creating a better organized and more peaceful world. Since taking office, Annan has received praise for his work on human rights, the AIDS crisis and peace negotiations, as well his wide-spread popularity within the U.N.
Born in Ghana, Annan graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., with a degree in economics in 1961 and obtained a master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972.
Annan joined the U.N. in 1962, and he also served as assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations and under secretary-general.
