Latvian President named envoy to help promote Annan's reform agenda ahead of UN summit

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today named the President of Latvia as the fifth member of his team of global political leaders helping to promote his comprehensive reform agenda in the period leading up to a General Assembly summit in September.

Dr. Vaira Vike-Freiberga completes the Secretary-General's team of envoys who have agreed to use their good offices to help him promote the reforms outlined in his report, "In Larger Freedom," which calls for the most far-reaching reforms in the UN's 60-year history.

With his report, Mr. Annan has placed before world leaders an agenda for action to move the world decisively towards important goals: halving poverty in the next decade; reducing the threat of war, terrorism and deadly weapons; and advancing human dignity in every land.

As Latvia's Head of State, President Vike-Freiberga has actively supported the need for UN reform. Elected to a second term in office in 2003, she has successfully guided her nation through a period of active reforms leading to full membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

President Vike-Freiberga joins the other envoy's appointed last week: Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern of Ireland; Ali Alatas, former Foreign Minister of Indonesia; former President Joaquin Chissano of Mozambique; and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.