Annan to receive award from Ghana for international achievements

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will receive Ghana’s Millennium Excellence Award tomorrow as a citizen who has distinguished himself as a champion of world peace and an advocate for the eradication of poverty and disease.

The awarding of the MEAs is a national event held every five years to honour Ghanaian men and women who have excelled in advancing such causes as peace, gender balance, agriculture, education and science, rural development, and industrial development, UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.

The MEAs are bestowed by Ghana’s Excellence Awards Foundation, a private institution established in 1999.

Mr. Annan previously received the Ashanti title of Busumuru, “Son of the Sword” or “wise and most respected adviser” for his service to humanity in August 2002, the first non-royal person in Ghana to do so. His father was part-Ashanti.

In 2001 in Sierra Leone, Mr. Annan received another high traditional title, equivalent to a "great warrior," in recognition of his work.