KOFI ANNAN

KOFI ANNAN

WORLD GENERAL

Top bureaucrat. Diplomatic general. Where there was war, there was Annan. Upper class upbringing and foreign education allowed placement as a civilian cadet shuffling papers. Much later he would be sent to war for peace. His diplomatic studies served him well in navigating the corridors of international civil service politics. The mark of success being to remain in office. He could have worked a standard government career, but settled in the largest bureaucracy in the world.  He did not come into his own until close to retirement. A compromise vacancy saw him elevated to full general.  A leader is made by his calling or by the situation. Annan found himself between a rock and a hard place when wars not started by him, placed him in conflict with his sponsors. Walking the tight rope between popular opinion and official duty revealed the man. However, that is what leadership is all about, managing expectation and satisfying everyone. Ironically, he found himself defending the humanitarian cause in the midst of wars. Perhaps the mark of the man is peace. His exterior presence inspires the feeling that something will be done. Leadership is a balancing act between bureaucracy and reality, between law and war. What one can't do the other will try, but in between there must be peace. Charisma is a leadership winner, but calm is what leaders need in a crisis.

Allan Bukusi