SECRETARY-GENERAL BIDS FAREWELL TO RETIRING UNFPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SG/SM/7671
POP/784
20 December 2000
SECRETARY-GENERAL BIDS FAREWELL TO RETIRING UNFPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s remarks at a farewell event for outgoing United Nations Population Fund Executive Director,
Dr. Nafis Sadik:
They say it’s a good idea to practise restraint when speaking at a colleague’s retirement party, in case you need to save the real superlatives for somebody else later on. If that is right, the moment has now come to roll out those superlatives, because this is surely the colleague we've been saving them for.
Nafis, you were not only the first woman executive head in the United Nations system. You are also the only one so far to have promoted so many other women to leadership positions that it's the men on your staff who are worried about gender balance!
Far more striking, though, has been your willingness to brave the wrath, if not of the Almighty Himself, then certainly of those who claim to speak for Him here on earth. And what is more, you have won your point.
On a more mundane level, there are many, many people in this world who owe you a deep debt. You have given voice and hope to millions of girls and women in all parts of the developing world, who would otherwise had had little chance of being heard and little reason to be hopeful.
And you have done more than anyone to bring about a radical change in the way the world sees population issues. You have ensured that they are no longer seen in isolation, but as integral to all development efforts. The fact that you yourself come from a developing country -- and often a conservative one at that -- makes this achievement all the more remarkable, and has undoubtedly increased the impact of your courageous advocacy in this delicate field.
As Secretary-General, I owe you special thanks for the wisdom I have always been able to rely on, and the guidance you have given me -- not only on issues of family planning, but on issues affecting the whole United Nations family. Whether one to one, or around the table of the Senior Management Group, you have always spoken as a true fiend and ally should: that is, you have always told me what you believed, not what you believed I wanted to hear.
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- 2 - Press Release SG/SM/7671
POP/784
20 December 2000
And speaking of the Senior Management Group, I must say you have added a touch of colour and fun to its proceedings that we shall sadly miss.
What is really worrying me, though, is the thought of what you may do next. The idea that you are going to retire is simply laughable: you are not the retiring kind in any sense of the word. Nor can anyone believe the official story that you are over sixty: you have more youthful energy than all the rest of us put together.
If you do attempt to retire, I am sure it will last no longer than your incapacitation after open-heart surgery a few years back. I remember on that occasion one of our colleagues who had been away arrived back in New York three days after the operation and called the hospital to find out how you were. On being told you were already at home, he ventured hesitantly to your apartment and rang the bell, whereupon you yourself flung open the door, wreathed in a big welcoming smile and clad in one of your stunningly elegant saris.
That's how we shall always think of you, Nafis, and in whatever lies ahead we wish you every possible happiness and success. I hope we shall continue to see a lot of you, and I know that -- wherever you are -- the United Nations will continue to benefit from your advice, your friendship, and your support.
Thank you very much.
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