Kofi Atta Annan, Honorary GCMG (born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 1 January 2007. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Kofi Annan was born in the Kofandros section of Kumasi, Ghana – in what was then the British colony of the Gold Coast. He is a twin, a respected status in Ghanaian culture. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shares the middle name 'Atta', which in Fante and Akan means 'twin'.

Annan's family was part of the country's elite; both of his grandfathers and his uncle were tribal chiefs. His father was half-Ashanti, half-Fante, and his mother a Fante.