Description
To honor the former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the United Nations Postal Administration will issue a definitive stamp on 31 May 2019.
The $1.30 stamp features a portrait of the late Kofi Annan and was illustrated by the famous artist and engraver Martin Mörck (Norway). The quote on the stamp reads “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”
Kofi A. Annan of Ghana was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, who served from 1997 to 2006 and was the first to emerge from the ranks of United Nations staff.
As Secretary-General, Mr. Annan has given priority to revitalizing the UN through a comprehensive programme of reform; strengthening the Organization’s traditional work in the areas of development and the maintenance of international peace and security; advocating human rights, the rule of law and the universal values of equality, tolerance and human dignity; restoring public confidence in the Organization by reaching out to new partners and, in his words, by “bringing the United Nations closer to the people”. Mr. Annan also took a leading role in mobilizing the international community in the battle against HIV/AIDS and against the global terrorist threat.
Mr. Annan was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize for Peace, jointly with the Organization. He also received numerous honorary degrees and many other national and international prizes, medals and honours.
Upon leaving the United Nations, Mr. Annan established the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007. The Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that works to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer, more peaceful world.
Kofi Annan died on 18 August 2018 in Bern, Switzerland, at the age of 80.
Date of Issue: 31 May 2019
Artist: Martin Mörck (Norway)
Designer: Rorie Katz (United Nations)
Denomination: US$ 1.30
Stamp Size: 50mm x 35mm
Stamps per sheet: 20
Printer: Joh Enschedé Stamps BV (Netherlands)
Process: Offset lithography – Duotone
Perforation: 14 x 14 ¼
Quantities: US$ 1.30 10,500 sheets (210,000 stamps)
