Kofi Annan
United Nations and Arab League envoy to Syria
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 February 2012
Secretary General	Ban Ki-moon (UN) Nabil el-Araby (AL)
Preceded by	office created
Secretary-General of the United Nations
In office 1 January 1997 – 31 December 2006
Deputy	Louise Fréchette (1997–2006) Mark Malloch Brown (2006)
Preceded by	Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Succeeded by	Ban Ki-moon
Personal details
Born	Kofi Atta Annan (1938-04-08) 8 April 1938 (age 74) Kumasi, Colony of the Gold Coast, British Empire
Nationality	Ghanaian
Spouse(s)	Nane Maria Lagergren (m. 1984–present)
Relations	Anthony Gildas Kofi Annan (b. 1986)
Alma mater	Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Macalester College Graduate Institute of International Studies MIT
Religion	Christian (Protestant)[1]
Signature

Kofi Atta Annan ( /ˈkoʊfi ˈænən/; born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his founding of the Global AIDS and Health Fund to support developing countries in their struggle to care for their people.

Since February 2012, Annan has been the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, to help find a resolution to ongoing conflict there.^[2]

Early years and education[link]

Kofi Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shares the middle name Atta, which in Fante and Akan means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's aristocratic families; both their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.^[3]

In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, and/or in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday.^[4]

Pronunciation: Annan has said his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.^[5]

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan has said that the school taught him "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere".^[6] In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, Ghana gained independence from Britain.

In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, in 1961. Annan then did a DEA degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management^[7] (1971–72) in the Sloan Fellows program and earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree.

Annan is fluent in English, French, Akan, some Kru languages and other African languages.^[8]

Early career[link]

In 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations (UN). From 1974 to 1976, he worked as the Director of Tourism in Ghana. In the late 1980s, Annan returned to work for the UN, where he was appointed as an Assistant Secretary-General in three consecutive positions: Human Resources, Management and Security Coordinator (1987–1990); Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Controller (1990–1992); and Peacekeeping Operations (March 1993 – December 1996).

The Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 while Annan directed UN Peacekeeping Operations. In 2003 Canadian ex-General Roméo Dallaire, who was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003), General Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict, and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to provide responses to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered Tutsis. In 2004, ten years after the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said, "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."^[9]

Annan served as Under-Secretary-General from March 1994 to October 1995. He was appointed a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, serving for five months before returning to his duties as Under-Secretary-General in April 1996.

Secretary-General of the United Nations[link]

Appointment[link]

On 13 December 1996, the United Nations Security Council recommended Annan to replace the previous Secretary-General, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, whose second term faced the veto of the United States.^[10][11] Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly,^[12] he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.

Activities[link]

Annan with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin at United Nations Headquarters in New York City on 16 November 2001.

In April 2001, Annan issued a five-point "Call to Action" to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Stating it was a "personal priority", Annan proposed a Global AIDS and Health Fund to stimulate the increased international spending needed to help developing countries confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. On 10 December 2001, Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world".^[13]

During the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Annan called on the United States and the United Kingdom not to invade without the support of the United Nations. In a September 2004 interview on the BBC, when questioned about the legal authority for the invasion, Annan said he believed it was not in conformity with the UN charter and was illegal.^[14][15]

Annan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disagreed sharply on Iran's nuclear program, on an Iranian exhibition of cartoons mocking the Holocaust, and on the then upcoming International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, an Iranian Holocaust denial conference in 2006.^[16] During a visit to Iran instigated by continued Iranian uranium enrichment, Annan said "I think the tragedy of the Holocaust is an undeniable historical fact and we should really accept that fact and teach people what happened in World War II and ensure it is never repeated."^[16]

Annan supported sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan. He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one. Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on women's rights and other topics.

Beginning in 1998, Annan convened an annual UN "Security Council Retreat" with the 15 States' representatives of the Council. It was held at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) Conference Center at the Rockefeller family estate at Pocantico, and was sponsored by both the RBF and the UN.^[17]

Lubbers sexual-harassment investigation[link]

In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the complaint brought by four women workers against Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees for sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation. The report also reviewed a long-serving staff member's allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Werner Blatter, Director of UNHCR Personnel. The investigation found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment; no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official, or two subsequent complaints filed later that year. In the course of the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter which some considered was a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges.^[18] On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally.^[19] His decision held until November 2004. When the OIOS issued its annual report to the UN General Assembly, it stated that it had found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment. These events were widely reported and weakened Annan's influence.

On 17 November 2004, Annan accepted an OIOS report clearing Dileep Nair, UN Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, of political corruption and sexual harassment charges. Some UN staff in New York disagreed with this conclusion, leading to extended debate on 19 November.

The internal UNn-OIOS report on Lubbers was leaked, and sections accompanied by an article by Kate Holt were published in a British newspaper. In February 2005, he resigned as head of the UN refugee agency. Lubbers said he wanted to relieve political pressure on Annan.^[20]

Oil-for-Food scandal[link]

In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son Kojo Annan received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations.

Annan appointed the Independent Inquiry Committee,^[21] which was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker,^[22] then the director of the United Nations Association of the US. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied having had a meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry, he recalled that he had met with Cotecna's chief executive Elie-Georges Massey twice. In a final report issued on 27 October, the committee found insufficient evidence to indict Kofi Annan on any illegal actions, but did find fault with Benan Sevan, a Cypriot national who had worked for the UN for about 40 years. Appointed by Annan to the Oil-For-Food role, Sevan repeatedly asked Iraqis for allocations of oil to the African Middle East Petroleum Company. Sevan's behavior was "ethically improper", Volcker said to reporters. Sevan repeatedly denied the charges and argued that he was being made a "scapegoat".^{[citation needed]} The Volcker report was highly critical of the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new position be established of Chief Operating Officer (COO), to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities than under the Secretary General's office. The report listed the companies, both Western and Middle Eastern, that benefited illegally from the program.^{[22][citation needed]}

Relations between the United States and the United Nations[link]

Kofi Annan supported^[23] his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, who openly criticized the United States in a speech on 6 June 2006: "[T]he prevailing practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another. [...] [That] the US is constructively engaged with the UN [...] is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News."^[24] Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer."^[25]

The talk was unusual because it violated unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticize member nations.^[25] The interim U.S. ambassador John R. Bolton, appointed by President George W. Bush, was reported to have told Annan on the phone: "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen in that entire time."^[25] Observers from other nations confirmed Malloch's view that conservative politicians in the US prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of US involvement in the UN.^[26]

UN Resolution 61/225: World Diabetes Day[link]

Kofi Annan witnessed the United Nations General Assembly's passage of UN Resolution 61/225, to establish World Diabetes Day. The Resolution was the second UN General Assembly Resolution on a health-related issue (the other being HIV/AIDS). Resolution 61/225 is the only Health-related UN Resolution to pass by consensus. Sponsored by the Republic of South Africa and Bangladesh, the Resolution was passed on 20 December 2006.

Farewell addresses[link]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Secretary-General Kofi Annan's address at the Truman Presidential Museum & Library on 11 December 2006

On 19 September 2006, Annan gave a farewell address to world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters in New York, in anticipation of his retirement on 31 December. In the speech he outlined three major problems of "an unjust world economy, world disorder, and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law", which he believes "have not resolved, but sharpened" during his time as Secretary-General. He also pointed to violence in Africa, and the Arab-Israeli conflict as two major issues warranting attention.^[27]

On 11 December 2006, in his final speech as Secretary-General, delivered at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, Annan recalled Truman's leadership in the founding of the United Nations. He called for the United States to return to President Truman's multilateralist foreign policies, and to follow Truman's credo that "the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world". He also said that the United States must maintain its commitment to human rights, "including in the struggle against terrorism."^[28][29]

Recommendations for UN reform[link]

Soon after taking office in 1997, Annan released two reports on management reform. On 17 March 1997, the report ‘Management and Organisational Measures’ (A/51/829) introduced new management mechanisms through the establishment of a cabinet-style body to assist him and be grouping the UN’s activities in accordance with four core missions. A comprehensive reform agenda was issued on 14 July 1997 entitled ‘Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform’ (A/51/950). Key proposals included the introduction of strategic management to strengthen unity of purpose, the establishment of the position of Deputy Secretary-General, a 10-percent reduction in posts, a reduction in administrative costs, the consolidation of the UN at the country level, and reaching out to civil society and the private sector as partners. Annan also proposed to hold a Millennium Summit in 2000.^{[citation needed]}

After years of research, Annan presented a progress report, In Larger Freedom, to the UN General Assembly, on 21 March 2005. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other UN reforms.^[30]

On 31 January 2006, Kofi Annan outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN in a policy speech to the United Nations Association UK. The speech, delivered at Central Hall, Westminster, also marked the 60th Anniversary of the first meetings of the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council.^[31]

On 7 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled: "Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide".^[32]

On 30 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his analysis and recommendations for updating the entire work programme of the United Nations Secretariat over the last 60 years. The report is entitled: "Mandating and Delivering: Analysis and Recommendations to Facilitate the Review of Mandates".^[33]

Post-UN career[link]

Upon his return to Ghana, Annan was immediately suggested as a candidate to become the country's next President.^[34]

He has become involved with several organizations with both global and African focuses. In 2007, Annan was named chairman of the prize committee for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, was chosen to lead the new formation of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), became a member of the Global Elders, was appointed president of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, and was selected for the MacArthur Foundation Award for International Justice.

In the beginning of 2008, as head of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, Annan participated in the negotiations to end the civil unrest in Kenya. He threatened to leave the negotiations as mediator if a quick decision was not made.^[35] On 26 February 2008 he suspended talks to end Kenya's violent post-election crisis.^[36] On 28 February, Annan managed to have President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga sign a coalition government agreement and was widely lauded by many Kenyans for this landmark achievement. That was the best deal achieved then under the mediation efforts.

Annan is a member of the Club of Madrid.^[37] Annan currently serves on the board of directors of the United Nations Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion USD gift to support UN causes. The UN Foundation builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN.^[38]

Annan is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday 16 June 2008 entitled Africa's Development: Promises and Prospects.^[39]

Kofi Annan was appointed the Chancellor of the University of Ghana in 2008.^[40]

Annan has signed up to be one of the Counsellors at One Young World a non-profit organisation which hopes to bring together 1500 young global leaders of tomorrow from every country in the world.

In May 2009 Columbia University announced that Annan will join a new program being launched by Dean John Coatsworth at the School of International and Public Affairs as one of the first group of Global Fellows. The Global Fellows program will bring students together with global practitioners to share firsthand knowledge of experiences in the life of an international or public figure. He is also a fellow of The Committee on Global Thought appointed by the University.

On 2 September 2009, Annan was unveiled as the first Li Ka Shing Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore (NUS). The announcement was made during the school's 5th anniversary celebrations.^[41]

On 7 October 2010, Annan was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Global Center for Pluralism, Canada’s new international research and education center dedicated to the study and practice of pluralism worldwide. The Global Center for Pluralism is an initiative of His Highness the Aga Khan in partnership with the Government of Canada. The Center is located at 330 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Canada. Dedicated to the creation of successful societies, the Center is founded on the premise that tolerance, openness and understanding towards the cultures, social structures, values and faiths of other peoples are essential to the very survival of an interdependent world. Pluralism is no longer simply an asset or a prerequisite for progress and development.

A member of the Foundation Chirac's honour committee when former French president Jacques Chirac launched it in 2008, Kofi Annan participates as jury member for the Prize for Conflict Prevention^[42] awarded every year by this foundation. He also created the Kofi Annan Foundation^[43] dedicated to sustainable development and peace.

Work in Syria[link]

On 23 February 2012, Annan was appointed as the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, in an attempt to curb the growing violence there.^[44] He has developed a six-point plan for peace.^[45]

1. commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people, and, to this end, commit to appoint an empowered interlocutor when invited to do so by the Envoy;
2. commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilise the country.

   To this end, the Syrian government should immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres.

   As these actions are being taken on the ground, the Syrian government should work with the Envoy to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism.

   Similar commitments would be sought by the Envoy from the opposition and all relevant elements to stop the fighting and work with him to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism;

3. ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and to this end, as immediate steps, to accept and implement a daily two hour humanitarian pause and to coordinate exact time and modalities of the daily pause through an efficient mechanism, including at local level;
4. intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable categories of persons, and persons involved in peaceful political activities, provide without delay through appropriate channels a list of all places in which such persons are being detained, immediately begin organizing access to such locations and through appropriate channels respond promptly to all written requests for information, access or release regarding such persons;
5. ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;
6. respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

Honours and awards[link]

Honours[link]

2000: Companion of the Order of the Star of Ghana^[46]

2001: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania

2005: Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty (Portugal)

2006: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion

2007: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria

2007: Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) from Queen Elizabeth II (UK)^[47]

2008: Grand Cross 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany^[48]

Awards[link]

Kofi Annan at the award ceremony – organized by the ISC – receiving the Freedom Prize of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation at the University of St. Gallen

2000: Kora All Africa Music Awards in the category of Lifetime Achievement

2001: Nobel Foundation, The Nobel Peace Prize, jointly presented to Kofi Annan and the United Nations

2002: winner of the "Profiles in Courage Award", given by the JFK Memorial Museum

2002: The American Whig-Cliosophic Society James Madison Award for Distinguished Public Service.^[49]

2003: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[50]

2003: Freedom Prize of the Max Schmidheiny Foundation at the University of St. Gallen

2006: International World Order of Culture, Science and Education, Award of the European Academy of Informatization, Belgium

2006: Inter Press Service, International Achievement Award for Annan's lasting contributions to peace, security, and development

2006: Olof Palme Prize

2007: Wooden Crossbow, special award from the Swiss World Economic Forum

2007: People in Europe Award of Verlagsgruppe Passau

2007: MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Award for International Justice

2007: North-South Prize of the Council of Europe

2008: Peace of Westphalia Prize

2008: Harvard University Honors Prize

2008: Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize

2008: Peace of Westphalia Prize – Münster (Westfalen)

2008: Open Society Award – CEU Business School Budapest

Honorary degrees[link]

• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (Kumasi), Honorary Doctor of Science, 24 August 1998
• United Nations Mandated University for Peace, Honorary President, 1999
• Lund University, Honorary Doctor of Law, 1999
• National University of Ireland, Doctor of Law, 22 January 1999
• Technische Universität Dresden, doctor honoris causa, 27 April 1999
• Howard University, honorary doctorate of humane letters, 8 May 1999
• Comenius University in Bratislava, doctor honoris causa, 15 Jun 1999
• University of Notre Dame, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, 21 May 2000
• Seton Hall University, John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Honorary Doctorate, February 2001
• Brown University, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2001
• Liberty Medal International Selection Commission, Liberty Medal, 4 July 2001
• Free University of Berlin, doctor honoris causa, 13 July 2001
• Tilburg University, Honorary Doctorate, 2002
• University of Alcalá, Doctor Honoris Causa, 9 April 2002
• Northwestern University, Doctor of Laws, 21 June 2002
• University of Pittsburgh, honorary Doctor of Public and International Affairs degree 21 October 2003
• Ghent University (Belgium), doctor honoris causa 21 March 2003
• Carleton University, Legum Doctor, honoris causa, 9 March 2004
• University of Ottawa, Doctor of the University Degree, 9 March 2004
• University of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 16 May 2005
• Universidade Nova de Lisboa, doctor honoris causa, 12 October 2005
• The George Washington University, Doctor of Public Service, 5 May 2006
• University of Tokyo, Honorary Doctorate, 18 May 2006
• Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, 30 October 2006
• University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, Max Schmidheiny Foundation Freedom Prize (originally awarded 2003, but postponed due to Annan's illness), 18 November 2006
• Princeton University, Crystal Tiger Award, 28 November 2006
• King's College London, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, 28 May 2008
• Glasgow Caledonian University, Doctor of Laws, 18 November 2011

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Ghana portal
	Politics portal
	United Nations portal
	Syria portal

• Rwandan Genocide
• In Larger Freedom
• Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana
• Black Nobel Prize laureates
• Seoul Peace Prize

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Kofi Annan on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
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	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
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Biographies, interviews, and profiles

• Official UN biography as former SG
• UN envoy for Syria
• Nobel Peace Prize biography
• Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm Detailed PBS profile. Includes interactive biography and map of Annan's worldwide travels, among other things. Requires Flash.
• Kofi Annan: An Online News Hour Focus A compilation of information, interviews, and initiatives about and by Kofi Annan, by the website of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. From 1998–1999.
• Kofi Annan, President, Global Humanitarian Forum Geneva
• Kofi Annan: Biographical Note Basic biography by Phyllis Bennis of the Global Policy Forum.
• One-on-one with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan October 1998 interview of Kofi Annan by Kevin Chappell of Ebony.
• Annan Article in Saga Magazine
• Short Biography at the Africa Progress Panel website

Articles

• Ian Williams, The Guardian, 20 September 2005, "Annan has paid his dues: The UN declaration of a right to protect people from their governments is a millennial change"
• Annan, Kofi A. "Lessons from the U.N. leader" The Washington Post, 12 Dec 2006
• "Kofi and U.N. Ideals" The Wall Street Journal, 14 Dec 2006
• Colum Lynch, The Washington Post, 24 April 2005, "U.N. Chief's Record Comes Under Fire"
• "Oil-for-food memo raises questions for Annan" – CNN
• The Annan Plan: full text and additional information from the United Nations

Speeches

• Statements of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
• Nobel Peace Prize lecture

v t e Secretaries-General of the League of Nations and United Nations League of Nations (1919–1945) James Eric Drummond (United Kingdom) Joseph Louis Anne Avenol (France) Seán Lester (Irish Free State) United Nations (since 1945) Gladwyn Jebb (United Kingdom)* Trygve Lie (Norway) Dag Hammarskjöld (Sweden) U Thant (Burma) Kurt Waldheim (Austria) Javier Pérez de Cuéllar (Peru) Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt) Kofi Annan (Ghana) Ban Ki-moon (South Korea) * Gladwyn Jebb was provisional Secretary-General of the United Nations prior to the election of Trygve Lie

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

Tom Clancy's EndWar is a real-time tactics game designed by Ubisoft Shanghai for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows platforms. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions feature turn-based tactics instead of the real-time tactics of their console counterparts.^[7] It was released on November 4, 2008 in the United States, November 6, 2008 in Canada, and November 8, 2008 in Europe.^[3] A Windows version was released on February 24, 2009.^[8]

Story[link]

Background[link]

A nuclear attack occurs in Saudi Arabia, killing six million people and crippling the supply of oil from the Middle East, plunging the world into an unprecedented energy crisis. The following year, the United States of America and the European Union sign the historic SLAMS (Space-Land-Air Missile Shield) Treaty, agreeing to co-develop technologies for a comprehensive, interlocking anti-ballistic missile system. The U.S. and EU test-launch nuclear salvos against each other, which the SLAMS weapons completely destroy. Emboldened by the success of the tests, the United States and the European Union pronounce "the end of strategic nuclear war," and the world celebrates a new age of peace.

With the price of crude oil at USD 800 a barrel, the EU member states are forced to consolidate political, economic, and military power to form a united European superstate, the European Federation, which has a greater population and GDP than the United States. The United Kingdom and Ireland decide not to join the new state, however, and instead form their own union known as the "New Commonwealth". Nations too weak to join the European Federation, notably those in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, collapse completely and were subsequently taken over by Russia, who refer to it as "their land."^[9] The U.S. and the EF regard each other's power as a threat to their own, and the now fractured former allies embark on a costly space arms race with each other.

Russia, being the world's new number one supplier of natural gas and crude oil, has its economy skyrocket up with the energy crisis, spending its oil profits on modernizing its armed forces, creating its own missile defense system, and utilizing its new-found power to influence world events.

The militarization of space reaches its peak in 2020, when the United States reveals plans to launch the Freedom Star space station in an effort to regain its position as the premier world superpower. While partly designed for civilian research purposes, the station will also house three companies of U.S. Marines, who can deploy anywhere on Earth within 90 minutes. International reaction is extremely negative, to say the least. The EF and Russia in particular despise the development, seeing it as a way the U.S. could use to neutralize their portion of anti-ballistic defenses and upset the balance of power. The EF withdraws from the already divided NATO in protest, causing the organisation to collapse. Former NATO bases and facilities in Europe are subsequently taken over by the EF.

Prelude to war[link]

The prelude to war takes place before the Third World War and explains how the conflict began.

On March 23, 2020, European Federation (EF) uplink sites in the "lawless zone," where Croatia used to be, are attacked by an as-yet unidentified group of terrorists, who are using T-80 tanks, from a beached cargo ship. They are repulsed by EF Enforcers Corps (EFEC) forces. During the battle, the EF attempts to gain access to the cargo ship that the terrorists use but the ship is destroyed before they can gain access. Details of the attack are kept secret.

On April 4, 2020, when the final module of the Freedom Star is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center amid international outcry, the same group of terrorists attack the module and attempt to destroy it, using the same methods as the Croatian attack. Once again they are repulsed, this time by the United States Joint Strike Force (JSF) as reports of yet another terrorist attack come in, this time of an assault on the Rozenburg petrol plant in the Netherlands. After being defeated by EFEC forces, the terrorists identify themselves as the "Forgotten Army" composed of people from a collection of failed states in the Balkans, Africa and South America.

Following a final terrorist attack, this time on a Russian power plant near Minsk (an attack which the Russians were aware of beforehand but played along with for aesthetic purposes), the US finds "conclusive evidence" that the European Federation's defense minister, François Pulain, funded the Forgotten Army with modern military equipment. Suspecting there to be a conspiracy within the European government to prevent the completion of the Freedom Star, The Americans send a black-ops team to abduct Pulain while he inspects the uplink network in Copenhagen, the site of the EF's main naval base. They manage to capture him but an anonymous call by Russia informs Danish police, allowing EFEC forces to prevent extraction and trap the team in one of the uplinks. On April 7, 2020, the US crashes Copenhagen's uplinks and sends in JSF units to rescue the trapped team. The US successfully repels the EFEC's first attack, but European forces are able to counter-attack and reboot Copenhagen's uplinks in their favor. The JSF forces are forced to surrender and are allowed safe passage back to the U.S. in exchange for releasing Pulain.

The events in Copenhagen spark a major international incident but the U.S. and EF stop just short of declaring war. As last-minute peace talks are arranged to be held on neutral ground in London, it is revealed (to the player only) that Russia funded the Forgotten Army's attacks and planted the evidence against Pulain, citing the need to keep the EF and the U.S. from uniting in order to take Russia's oil. To ensure that war is sparked between the two powers, elements of the Spetsnaz Guard Brigade (SGB) embark on a covert operation, disguised as Forgotten Army soldiers, to upload a virus into the European SLAMS network at Rovaniemi air base in Finland. The virus causes an EF orbital laser satellite to shoot down the new Freedom Lifter module during lift off, thinking it to be an ICBM. The entire crew is killed, and news reports blaming problems from "malfunction" to "terrorist hijacking" to (finally) "EF satellite." This final act starts a war between the two powers. Russia initially joins the United States under the guise of "aiding it in its crusade against Europe" and invades EF-controlled Poland, but the Americans see this as an attempt to reform the Eastern Bloc and attack Russia. World War III has begun.

World War III[link]

World War III is an open ended part of the story where the player chooses their faction and character and tries to take all three Capitals or twenty-eight battlefields.

The campaign plays much like Prelude to War with a few additional options. During World War III between battles the player has the option to choose between several battle locations. The battles that the player could have chosen, but did not, will be fought by AI. Also, battles lost or quit by the player cannot be replayed, and the territory is lost, whereas in Prelude to War, the player could retry each battle until he succeeded. The player also has the option to upgrade their chosen battalion with improved attack, defense, mobility, and ability characteristics.

At the conclusion of each campaign battle a summary screen is shown. This screen includes information including number of battalion units promoted, amount of credits (money) received, command rating, medals, mission duration, and a quote by a famous military leader. The player can gain a more in depth understand of the battle summary by viewing the details screens, which provides a breakdown of statistics, ranking, etc...

During the course of the war several background situations arise such as adverse weather conditions like typhoons causing people to become homeless and rescue teams being dispatched. There are also reports of protest against the war from around the world as well as by individual figures such as the Pope. These parts of the story are told via television reports. They also report the sinking of enemy shipping by airstrikes and WMDs. As the war progresses, the leader of an opposing nation survives an assassination attempt, around Turn 15.

When the war has ended, the winning faction takes control of the world and a special scene is shown, which shows the winning faction's flag and troops parading with the voice of the faction's General talking about their victory and what will happen in the future; depending on whether it is United States, Europe or Russia that is the winning side, the cut scene is different due to different speeches by Generals and different reasons for starting the war.

Locations[link]

In an IGN interview, De Plater said the setting of EndWar (as a possible series) is a global battle, but the first installment is focused on the North Atlantic theatre of battle: Europe, Russia and North America. Players will hear reports of events in other parts of the world, such as reactions to the war by the Pope and various other countries, as well as actions in the war that the player takes no part in.^[10]

Gameplay[link]

Imp Rebs has confirmed 4x4 will be offered in the full version. De Plater confirmed the game to be a Real-time tactics strategy war-game.^[11] Units will gain experience as they are used in battle. The emphasis will be more on smaller scale battles rather than the overarching campaign.

Ubisoft also claims that the game is "completely controllable through voice commands." This is demonstrated on a handful of game play videos by de Plater himself.

Factions[link]

There are 3 playable factions in EndWar:

• The European Federation Enforcer Corps (EFEC), which is made up of veteran elite counter-terrorist and peacekeeping forces throughout Europe, especially skilled in urban warfare. While their units are slightly less armored, they are faster than either the JSF's or SGB's. They also excel in electronic warfare, as well as advanced directed energy and microwave weapons. Their ranks notably contain many previous members of the elite counter-terrorist unit, Rainbow. Their WMD (weapon of mass destruction) is a Tactical High Energy Laser.

• The Russian Federation Spetsnaz Guards Brigade (SGB), which is composed of veterans of Russia's many regional conflicts, specializing in heavy weapons and heavy armor. They believe in winning at all costs, while still saving face. A few Rainbow veterans from Eastern Europe serve as Battalion commanders. Their WMD is a Fuel-Air Missile / Vacuum bomb, as are many of the 'special weapon' upgrades for units - e.g.: engineers and tanks gain access to flamethrowers, while artillery and gunships make use of fuel-air weaponry.

• The United States' Joint Strike Force (JSF), led by Ghost Recon main character Scott Mitchell,^[12] is modeled after today's Marine Expeditionary Units. The J.S.F. is built around small units packing a precise punch, and is made up of elite servicemen from all branches of the U.S. Military.^[13] They also specialize in access to state-of-the-art stealth technology and battlefield robotics, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Automated Sentry Drones. Their WMD is a Kinetic Strike. A few veteran Ghost Recon and Rainbow members serve as battalion commanders.

Units[link]

There are seven types of units available for direct command: riflemen, engineers, tanks, transports, gunships, artillery, and command vehicles. Troops which have been with the player for many battles will be more effective than fresh recruits. De Plater, Creative Director, says this creates a "Pokémon-like" ownership of the player's units, and will have a large effect on his tactics. "It's a battalion that you own," says de Plater. "You can personalize it. You can customize it. You can choose its motto and its heraldry. You can change its composition and abilities." According to a Pre-GC IGN article: "Each faction has roughly 150 upgrades and units have six levels of experience. These upgrades are where the seven unit types can gain great variety and specialization through three different ways-experience, equipment and training, all of which have different effects and abilities. This allows many of the related unit types other games consider a different class have merely to be folded into one of the eight present in EndWar. For example, a rifleman may be upgraded to a sniper unit rather than having that unit type exist by itself."^[14]

Each individual unit can be upgraded, improving their armor or offensive capability. Upgrades must be bought from points earned in the game.

The player will not control individual soldiers, but much larger platoons and companies. The soldiers will behave realistically, using stealth and military tactics. Veterans will act based on their experience in previous battles.

Craters, walls, debris, and buildings can be used for cover, and units can be pinned down by heavy enemy fire.

De Plater hinted at the game being streamlined with regards to units, resource management, etc. He stated that "every time they cut features out, it just made the game better." For example, only 12 groups are allowed under control at once. Also, the resource system will be stripped down compared to other RTS games. Each unit costs the same amount of resources, which are gained by capturing strategic points on the battlefield. Reinforcements will be handled realistically meaning all new units must be transported onto the battlefield by a transport vehicle (or in the case of helicopters, will fly in from off-screen).

To call in new units it costs between one and six CP (Command Points), Command Points are also used to call in airstrikes, force recon and electronic warfare, the three kinds of offmap support. Command Points regenerate at a rate of around one point for every 30 seconds and are also gained for killing enemy units, the player gains a bonus of four Command Points for capturing an uplink.

Mission Supports[link]

There are also three mission supports that can be upgraded:

Air strikes that can be used to damage or destroy enemy units. Electronic warfare disrupts enemy communications, disables shields, reveals hidden traps and infantry, and immobilizes enemy vehicles and helicopters. Force Recon is a support weapon that sends a regular army unit to a captured uplink to protect it, or to attack a designated hostile. It consists of up to two infantry units, two FAVs (Fast Attack Vehicle) units, and two Tank units from the regular army.

DEFCON 1 Supports[link]

When a battle reaches DEFCON 1 two supports are unlocked for the losing player; these are the ability to Crash an Uplink and deploy a WMD. When an uplink is crashed its upgrade can no longer be used and it no longer counts towards victory; Crashing an Uplink does not damage any units on the battlefield and can only be done once. A WMD, however, destroys all units within a large blast area, whether friendly or not. WMDs recharge slowly, so they can be used again. Additionally, during DEFCON 1, units used as reinforcements only cost two Command Points.

Mission Types[link]

There are four types of missions in the game: conquest, assault, raid and siege.^[15]

• Conquest: These battles are the most common, as Conquest is the primary mode in EndWar. The player starts with up to four units and has access to reserves and off map support. The aim of this mission type is to maintain control over a majority of the uplinks for a five minute period. The player can also win by controlling all of the uplinks on the map at once which grants an instant victory. When over half the uplinks are controlled, DEFCON 1 initiates and access to DEFCON 1 supports is granted.
• Assault: These battles are the most straightforward. To win this battle, the player must wipe out all enemy units.
• Raid: These battles are like conquest mode, but the player has to sabotage the enemy by destroying half of the key buildings on the map within ten minutes (on offense), or prevent them from being destroyed (on defense). WMDs are not available.
• Siege: These battles are exclusive to capital cities and require the player to capture or defend a critical uplink identified by being larger than all other uplinks. The attacker must secure the uplink before reinforcements arrive in ten minutes. The defender will be given eight units and must hold on to the uplink for ten minutes time, at which point a massive Force Recon team deploys. Until the timer runs out, the defenders must do without any off-map support, including reinforcements and evacuation choppers, forcing units to fight to the last man. Off-map supports, including WMDs and reinforcements, are half the CP cost.

In all mission types, the player can also win by annihilating the enemy force.

Voice[link]

The game features optional voice commands so that the player may use a headset to give orders to their troops, although the troops will only react to valid and game-related orders in certain languages, but are able to understand many accents of those languages. Officials at Ubisoft Shanghai said it was also possible to control the game using only voice commands; Jeff Bakalar of CNET concurred, saying the demonstration he watched ran for twenty minutes without any perceptible faults.^[16] Hearing enemy soldiers communicate gives the player a strategic advantage to counter the enemy's attack with one of their own. Ubisoft has even created a video showing parrots commanding units using their voice.^[17]

Point of View[link]

The primary view in the game is from the perspective of one of the units under the player's command. The view can be moved a short distance from the selected unit or switched to that of another unit. Enemy units will only be detected if they are within the Line-of-Sight of a unit; doing away with the fog of war common in most strategy games.

In addition to the units' point of view, there is a tactical map or Sitrep view, which shows the entire map with the locations of all allied and any visible enemy units which can be used to issue commands.

Marketing[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The special edition of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 included a video with the first live gameplay footage of this game. There have been online advertisements, as well as an EndWar website at Endwargame.com

Downloadable Content[link]

Since release, Endwar has received the "Escalation" downloadable pack on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace which contains three new unit upgrades (one per faction) and four new maps playable in skirmish, as well as additional achievements/trophies. Another set of upgrades were released, entitled the "Faction Elite pack" which included six new unit upgrades (two per faction) and three new battalions (one per faction). Also, announced on March 13, two new missions on two new maps will be available for free. They are assault on Russia’s Cosmodrome and conquest on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Richton, Mississippi, USA.

Trailer[link]

The first EndWar trailer shows an overhead map of Western Europe with only Spain and half of France under US control, while the Russians occupy the rest of the continent. The camera then zooms to an ongoing battle in Paris, where a local Joint Strike Force commander, Major General Smith, directs the action from a mobile headquarters vehicle by using an interactive holographic map display. Outside, U.S. soldiers armed with assault rifles similar to the XM8, along with advanced IFVs, DPVs, and M5A2 Schwarzkopf tanks, attack Russian forces holding out at the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre museum. Eventually, the US troops call in air support in the form of AH-80 Blackfoot attack helicopters and V-25 transports, forcing the Russians to fall back. However, the assault is short-lived, as in addition to a mechanized counterattack, the Russian forces launch several Tu-3 UCAVs that shoot down the helicopters right on top of the soldiers. Realizing the desperate situation, General Smith issues voice attack commands to a Kinetic Strike satellite hovering over Europe. Russian soldiers surround him as he emerges from his command vehicle.

Just before the Russians take him in as a prisoner of war, the general says, "Now." The satellite fires at least three kinetic rods down on his position, obliterating himself and the Russians, as well as large sections of Paris. Smith's death would be mentioned in passing in the EndWar novel.

The trailer depicts several major cultural icons from Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and a heavily damaged Luxor Obelisk.

The music used in this trailer was composed by Michael McCann and can be found at his website. The music of a different trailer is The End of the World by Skeeter Davis

Novelization[link]

Endwar was published as a novel,^[18] on February 4, 2008 in paperback form. The back cover says "Based on Ubisoft's bestselling game, Tom Clancy's EndWar", despite the game not yet having been released at that time.

Reception[link]

EndWar received mostly positive reviews. The Guardian gave the game a 4/5 ^[32] It was praised for its "Highly addictive solo play...the game comes into its own with the massively multiplayer online Theatre of War." while being docked somewhat for "occasional voice recognition blip". The website www.gametrailers.com gave EndWar a 9/10 saying that it was "Console strategy done right." IGN rated EndWar as an 8 out of 10 taking marks away for the "Uninspired single player campaign" but still saw it as a more than solid RTS. Game Spot's Kevin VanOrd rated the PS3 version of EndWar as a 7.5 out of 10 ^[31] praising its "Innovative voice command mechanic" and stating "Persistent online campaign makes matches feel meaningful" but berated it for its lack of story and "simple rock-paper-scissors skirmishes". 1Up and Electronic Gaming Monthly both gave the game a C.^[29]

Xbox 360 Beta[link]

A private beta test version was playable among Xbox Live Gold members. It included three maps and both 1v1 and 2v2 matches. The beta test began June 16, 2008 and ended July 9, 2008.^[33] Participants were placed under non-disclosure agreement until the game's first commercial launch.

Demo[link]

The VIP demo for Xbox 360 users who pre-ordered the game was released a little more than a week late on October 11. The demo features one single-player story mission, one map that is playable in Skirmish mode with either 1 vs. 1 or 1 vs. AI, and a Voice Command Trainer.^[34]

The VIP demo has a campaign mission at Kennedy Space Center. The Skirmish mode features the European Federation versus the United States over the Kennedy Space Center in Conquest mode. The demo was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 15, and on the PlayStation Store on October 30.

There is also a special code that appears when the user exits the demo, which is used to unlock a special Spetznaz battalion for use in the full game.

Sequel[link]

A sequel to the game was confirmed to be in the early stages of development by Ubisoft's creative director Michael De Plater in an interview with Videogamer.com.^[35] A small team from Ubisoft Shanghai is in charge of the development, he said, and "is concentrating on two areas of improvement - single-player story and depth." He could not, however, place a date as to when more information on the sequel would be released. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the development of the sequel was put 'on hold'.^[36]

References[link]

• [1] The Guardian review.
• [2] "IGN" Release Date

External links[link]

• Official Game Homepage at ubi.com