In May, when the United States may well be engaged in war, the world's most high-profile peacekeeper will speak at Duke.
Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, will deliver the University's 2003 commencement address May 11.
"I expect that he will speak from his experience in international institutions and as a diplomat.... It's conceivable that he would make some sort of policy announcement, but my sense is that he will be speaking for the class," said President Nan Keohane, announcing the selection to senior class leaders Monday afternoon.
Class of 2003 President Heather Oh praised the selection. "I was so thrown by President Keohane's announcement," she said. "My mouth gaped open. I was like, 'Are you kidding me?' I was expecting someone good, but he exceeded our expectations."
Annan, the first black African to serve as secretary-general, has taken strong stands against the global AIDS crisis and international terrorism after becoming the U.N.'s seventh secretary-general in January 1997. He has also worked to bring greater political stability to his home continent, working behind the scenes to make 2002's Johannesburg conference for African political reform a success.
Annan had been the committee's top choice and the invitation had been extended months ago, said Steven Baldwin, professor of chemistry and vice chair of the speaker selection committee. Annan accepted the invitation last week.
Gillian Sorensen, U.N. assistant secretary-general for external relations, said the invitation was one of many Annan received.
"He knows that it's a great university," Sorensen said. "He has not had a chance to visit that part of the country in a long time. He's also aware of the wonderful research Duke's doing on AIDS. He's very appreciative of that."
Annan, no stranger to the commencement circuit, told Northwestern University's graduates last year to become global citizens and to work to combat global poverty.
At Stanford University in 2000, he urged its graduates to take the lead in safeguarding the global environment. That year, protesters interrupted his speech over the issue of U.N.-backed economic sanctions against Iraq.
Keohane said she expected students to focus on Annan's message.
"We realize that whenever we have a very prominent speaker, especially a speaker who has a political career, to expect some reaction, but I think we will try not to have too much," Keohane said. "We are hoping that, when the time comes, that commencement will go on as commencement."
Baldwin said he did not know what Annan would discuss, but that he might expect Annan to share his thoughts on the United States' role in fighting global terrorism.
"I wouldn't be surprised as long as the situation is as it is now, or even more heightened tension... if this is monitored by the national news agencies," he said.
In his term as secretary-general, Annan has proven an independent leader, often challenging the United States on international issues, including American intentions to invade Iraq.
Annan has had to deal with a budget crisis in the United Nations, and has worked not just to make staff and budget cuts, but also to cultivate ties to the private sector.
A native of Ghana, Annan came to the position as a longtime diplomat and bureaucrat inside the United Nations. From 1994 to 1996, he served as under secretary-general, except for a four-month stint as a special representative to the former Yugoslavia following the Dayton Peace Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Annan also negotiated the return of 900 international workers from Iraq shortly after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Annan's involvement with the United Nations, however, goes back to 1962, when he first worked as an administrative budget officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva.
It is expected that University officials will recommend Annan for an honorary degree, an honor that is traditionally approved by the Academic Council and Board of Trustees in the spring.
Dave Ingram contributed to this story.
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