Kofi Annan, Man of the World

Making an Impression
After his studies, Annan joined the U.N. and worked in various low-level bureaucratic jobs until 1992, when he ascended to the organization's high-profile peacekeeping division. In 1995, he was appointed the special representative for the United Nations in the war-torn former Yugoslavia, above, where he supervised the transfer of peacekeeping duties from the U.N. to NATO-led forces. Commenting on how Annan worked with the ambassadors of the U.S., Great Britain, France and Russia, one official said, "To come out of that, with all four [ambassadors] feeling that they had never been misled, is what's called diplomacy."