NOBETPRIZE WINNERS

basicview in Alfred Nobel'swill 1.997-200LSupplement rnal perspectiveto the benefit of

; be awardedfor literary or scien- ved in practicewhile at the same ing rule was insertedin the regu- refer to works during the preced- nomic theory. He received his B.A' from for the most recentachievements Yale in 1.96t, and earned a Ph.D. in 1966 until recently." The discoveryof from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technol- until 1945when the drug'svalue ogy, in Cambridge. After graduation he ac- iterary contributionsmay not be .6ittta an assistantprofessorship at the Uni- of work. Therefore,many laure- veisity of California at Berkeley. From 1'967 to fg6g he served as a visiting professor at n arousescontroversy is self-evi- the Indian Statistical Institute, in Calcutta, ce prizesmust also be admitted. India, and in 1969 he was a research asso- ter. It is, however,surprising that ciate at Harvard University, in Cambridge, n written about the Nobel Prizes Massachusetts.In 1970 he became an asso- ciate professor at BerkeleY. aThe 'LemorIS'," zesin otherfields. The reasonis In Market for Akerlof's in the gratedbe takeninto account. The groundbreaking PaPeI published isteredby the foundation. None- of Econoyics (197o), he Quarterly lour:nai "information-asym- leningframeworks.' In 1973,far d-evelopedthe notion of cov eries concerning or ganization metrv.; It tht market for used cars, the po- ,ioneeringresearch in radio astro- tential buyer has less information than the very of cosmicmicrowave back- seller about the quality of the car. The buygl: oterpretationof the prize field. forced to make inferences about the car, will nska Institute.I servedas a mem- naturally be suspicious of its quality^,and ac- later secretary-generalof the offer a low and Itg Skorpinksi/Courtesy of the LLlirtorsitv''rl Califphysics, priceJeven if he or she would be willing tg -fir.e-yearperiod, I saw firsthand u higher price for a car that was in good George A. buu ed their delicatemission and wit- , loiraitio.t. tliis results in adverse selection, fiudi cating the prize proposals. where only the poor-quality cars come on 1940- Nobel Prize ked by representativesof organi- 17, ) for the market, since the owners of cars that are (shared with A. Michael romenew internationalprize was wrics, 2001 in good condition will choose to-keep their ine the topics carefully so that a and loseph E, Stiglitz) cari rather than sell them at such low prices' is to make a selection,even in a Under these circumstances, the quality of A. Akerlof was ion process.Third, ask for suffi- economist George available products is lowered for everyone 'l'g4} Con- involve a greatmany specialists on ]une L7, in New Haven, involved, and owners retain cars that they in Lectingthe Nobel laureatesand of t. He attended Yale UniversitY should have been able to sell. The asymmet- iame as that of the Nobel Prizes Haven. Having grown up in the shadow rical nature of information prevents deals l GreatDepression, he wanted to under- that would benefit both buyers and sellers' xtige. It is frequentlywondered the root causes of poverty-an interest In the same paper Akerlof discussed an award. One reasonmay be that drew him to the studY of economics. example that wai based on his studies of e principal historical transforma- always been interested in why people credif markets in India in the 1960s, where very beginning,the international poor," he told a writer for the Be*eley rural moneylenders charged interest rates : strict rules of the selectionpro- ipus News (October 10, 2001, on-line). that were twice as high as the rates in the cit- in establishingthe importanceof economics is about is trying to pre- ies. Akerlof explained that a middleman ;k of selectingof the next year's poverty insofar as that is possible." who borrows money in cities and lends it in ' of the world's intellectualsare lof cited in particular his interest in the rural areas-without knowledge of the bor- re importanceof the work that is omic disparity between blacks and rowers' ability to repay-is induced to raise rf mankind." es. which he feels is one of the most im- interest rates to cover the risks of lending to t issues in America, yet one that is in- those who may default. Akerlof's analysis market, iently addressedby contemporary eco- also applies io the health-care AKERLOF where individuals seeking insurance cover- a researchproject examining the effects age know more about their health than in- an individual's sense of self on econ surance companies do. Insurance providers, outcomes. In such areasas gender discr accordingly, are compelled to raise rates to nation, the economics of poverty, and the avoid the possible losses that would be in- vision of labor, Akerlof and Kranton curred by insuring too many high-risk cus- that including factors of personal and soci tomers. By doing so, however, the compa- identity significantly alters the conclusiot nies may discourage the healthy-and there- of traditional economic analysis. As a part fore desirable-potential customers from their work they examined how group i purchasing their services. ty among black children in inner Akerlofs focus on market imperfections schools affected emPloYment Pros presented a bold break from mainstream They argued that some schools in economic thought, which held that in un- neighborhoods have succeeded in im regulated markets the agreed-upon price ing student performance by altering conce1> must be the right price. The traditional view tions of identity, and therefore expectations- that competition and rational behavior lead They cited the Central Park East Secolduty "equilibrium," to market Akerlof argued, School, in the Harlem neighborhood of New had presupposed that both buyers and sell- York City, as an example. Mainstream ec(> ers were fully informed. By incorporating nomic ttreory, which maintains that training the effects of inforrnational inequalities in and education are the determining factors in market transactions, it becomes possible to a child's success,fails to acknowledge the explain the existence of certain institutions role that identity plays in shaping students' that aim to correct the market. Used-car de- successand job prosPects. alerships, for example, can be seen as at- Akerlof has become well known for his tempting to bridge the informational gap by practice of incorporating the perspectives of a posi- iocial sciences other than economics in his offering guarantees and establishing "An tive reputation with consumers. Other insti- work. In a paper titled Economic Theo- tutions that the theory seems to explain in- rist's Bookbf tales" (1984),as quoted in the brand names, chain stores,franchises, Berkeley Campus News, he explained that clude "economic and different types of contracts. Akerlof's theorists, like French chefs in re- fellow economics laureates, A.MIcHAEL sPENCE gard to food, have developed stylized mod- and losrpHsrIGLIrz, developed theories to ac- els whose ingredients are limited by some count for the various ways institutions unwritten rules. Just as traditional French adapt to the information inequality. Spe_nce cooking does not use seaweedor raw fish, so "signaling" introduced the idea of to explain neoclassical models do not make assump- how participants in a market transaction use tions derived from psychology, anthropolo- observable practices to convey the value or gy, or sociology. I disagree with aly rules quality of their products. Spence looked at fhat limit the nature of the ingredients in education, for example, as a signal to poten- economic models." Henry Aaron, a senior tial employers of productivity. Stiglitz in- fellow at the Brookings Institution, told a vestigated the "screening" processesadopt- writer for the Berkeley Campus News that "more ed by insurance companies to gather infor- than any other person in economics, mation about their customers. lAkerlofl has worked to show how the in- In'1.977Akerlof became a fulI professor at sight from sociology and psychology could- the University of California at Berkeley. In brioaden, enrich and increase the power of that same year he met his wife, Janet YeIIen, economics. He is, in my opinion, perhaps iir Washington D.C. Yellen was an econo- the most imaginative and creative applier of mist for the Federal Reserve Board at the insights from other disciplines." time, where Akerlof was a visiting research- In a statement posted on the Nobel e- Yellen Museum Web site, the Nobel committee er. They were married in July 1'978. "the became the head of the Board of Governors praised Akerlof's paper as single most of the Federal Reserve System in the mid- important study in the literature on econom- 1990s and served as the chair of the Council icJof information. It has the typical features of Economic Advisers from 1"997to 1999. of a trulv seminal contribution-it addresses Akerlof recently collaborated with Rachel a simpl-e-numerous but profound and universal idea, E. Kranton, a professor of economics at the with implications and wide- University of Maryland in College Park, on spread applications."

2 Nobel Prize Winners ATFEROV in has received manv honors and cal University) and received his degree ct examining the effects of scien- He is the recipient of a Guggenheim 1952. Later hb earned two additional sense of self on economic p and Fulbright FellowshiP.He_is tific degrees, both from the loffe-Physico- ;h areas as gender discrimi- of the Econometric SocietY, the Technical Institute: a candidate of sciences rmics of povertY,and the di- Academv of Arts and Sciences, in technology in 1961 and a doctor of sci- Akerlof and Kranton argued Institute for Policv Reform. He is ences in physics and mathematics in 1970' ctors of personal and social president of the American Economic Since rgS-3,Alferov has been a staff mem- antlv alters the conclusions fratiott and a senior adviser for the ber of the Ioffe Institute, where he has held rnomic analYsis.As a Part of Panel on Economic ActivitY. He the following positions: iunior researcher, examined how grouP identi- former vice president of the American from 1953 to f-gO+;senior researcher,from * children in inner-citY rmic Associalion. Akerlof and his wife, 1964 to 1967; head of the laboratory, from d employment '1.967 ProsPects. is now also an economics professor at to 1987; and director of the institute' [at some schools in Poor '1,987. rlev, live in Berkeley, California. Their since The institute has a prestigious har-e succeeded in imProv- RoLert, is working ioward a degree in history as a preeminent center for physics' by altering conceP- orrnance and economics at Yale UniversitY. Founded in igre by Abram Ioffe, a student exPectations. , and therefore of Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, who discov- Park East SecondarY lentral : Denver Post Octobet L7, 2OO'l'; ered the X-ray and won the first Nobel Prize neighborhood of New larlem York Times October tL,2OO'].., for physics in 1901,the institute has been on Mainstream eco- r example. 14, 2OO1.;Nobel e-Museum Web the foiefront of technological developments maintains that training rhich since its inception. One area in which the factors in re the determining institute is pirticularly strong is semicon- to acknowledge the s. fails ductor resealrch; Abram Ioffe himself took in shaPing students' v plavs up semiconductors as an area of study in the prospects. r earlv 1930s. known for his ri.o-" well Dlring the Cold War, when the Soviet of rporating the PersPectives Union and the United States were compet- in his oth.t than economics ins for supremacy in all things, especially "An Theo- r titled Economic teihnological advancements, the Ioffe Insti- quoted in the rles" (1984),as tute and-other scientific research organiza' that nrs -\-elvs, he exPlained tions benefitted from strong governmental chefs in re- nlists.like French support. It was during this period that AI- mod- rve developed stYlized feroi developed a semiconductor-based la- limited bY some edients are ser, the groundb.eaking work for which he French s. Just as traditional *", "*"ided the Nobel Prize. Since 1962 he or raw fish, so It use seaweed has worked in what was then the relatively not make assumP- odels do new field of semiconductor heterostruc- anthroPolo- mm psvchologY, tures, and in 1963 he outlined the principles with anY rules v. I diiaeree for using these heterostructures to create a ingredients in nature of the new type of laser and applied a Soviet Aaron, a senior -for els.'' Henry pateni.- (Working independently, Kroemer told a lrookings Institution, ipplied for a U.5. patent that same year for News that B,erkeley CamPus t[6 same concept.) Semiconductors are ma- y person in economics, other terials whose aUitity to conduct electricity the in- sorked lo show how lies between that of conductors and insula- could @ The Nobel Forrndation iologv and psYchologY tors. A semiconductor's band gap, an indica- h anh increase the Power of the semiconductor more re- Zhores I. tor of whether r is. in my oPinion, PerhaPs- sembles a conductor or an insulator, is the aPPlier of native and crbative amount of energy needed to produce mov- 15, 1930- ) Nobel Prize for PhYsics, lther disciplines." ing, charge-beaiing particles;elther Nobel e- (with Jack St. Clair Kilby and Herbert "holes," tegl- ent posted on the tivtly chirged electr-ons,or which site. the Nobel committee er) but "the behave like positively charged particles rfs paper as single most electrons as The physicist Zhores I. Alferov was born are actually spaces vacated by Lvin the literature on econom- By r March-r5, 1930 in Vitebsk, Belorussia, in they mova thiough the semiconductol' ion. It has the tYPical features silicon former Soviet Union. He studied in Len- the late 1950s the semiconductor ral contribution-it addresses for grad at the Department of Electronics of was becoming the material of choice rrofound and universal idea, particularly .I. Ulvanov (Lenin) Electrotechnical Insti- many electroiic components, us implications and wide- (now St. Petersburg State Electrotechni- traniistors. It was Kroemer who discovered ttions." Nobel Pfize Winners 3 ALFEROV in 1953 that by combining layers of different his team became among the first to semiconductors, the performance of silicon Iasersthat were ableto work continuously transistors could be greatly improved. These room-temperature.This refinement composite, or heterostructured semiconduc- the practical development of fi tors, ale made of complementary semicon- communication technology,a vital ductors; a common combination is gallium nent of the Internet. " arsenide and aluminum gallium arsenide. In 1970 Alferov was one of the Heterostructed semiconductors are called elite of young scientists," according such because they are made from several Quirin Schiermeier for Ncfure (No thin layers, which differ in thickness from a 23, 2000),who were given permission to few atom layers to micrometers, of semicon- it the West. Alferov spent six months in ductors with differing band gaps. Research- U.S. working at the laboratory of ers select such layers so that their crystal Holonyak at the University of Illinois at structures fit together, thereby allowing bana-Champaign,where Alferov did im charge-bearing particles to move almost tant new work on the structure and freely from one layer to another. ties of semiconductor lasers.In 1973 Al It took a number of years to.develop meth- became the chairma4 of optoelectronics ods of building heterostructured semicon- St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical U ductors efficiently, an effort in which Al- sity and in 19BBhe became dean of the ferov played a major rple. He was the first to ulty of physics and technology at the St. produce what is known as a lattice-adapted tersburg Technical University. heterostructure that exhibited distinct bor- Since the collapse of the Soviet Union ders between the semiconductor layers. 199L, Alferov's Ioffe Institute, a This in turn led to the development by Al- virtuallv all scientific researchin the ferov and his team of researchers of many nation, has suffered drastically from a types of components using heterostructures, of funds. Although in 1985 the including the injection laser, the device he Union's electronics industry was patented in 1963. In the early 1960s, both world's third largest, following those of Alferov and Kroemer realized that U.S. and ]apan, research and develo heterostructured semiconductors could be in the U.S.S.R. were geared towards the used to create lasers by arranging the materi- itary-industrial system,with little emp als in such a fashioh that the moving elec- on consumer electronics. Once that sv trons and holes become trapped together in disappeared,so did the country's e a specific region of the heterostructure. As ics industrv, as well as research funds Charles Seife described the process in Sci- the Ioffe Institute and other ence (October 20,2OOO):"When an electron Iike it. Foreign investment has kept the and a hole meet inside this trap, they recom- Institute afloat, and its abilitv to attract bine, releasing light. This light, in turn, in- funding has been attributed to Alferov's cites more trapped electrons and holes to re- ternational reputation for scientific combine. It's just like a traditional laser, but lence. Both private companies and it can be made out of semiconductors." Con- tions, some formed for the purpose of fos ventional lasers, invented in 1960, were cre- ing international scientific collaborati ated using expensive, specially made crys- have contributed grants. The In tals, and lasers based on heterostructures Science and Technology Center (ISTC), gradually made laser technology more ac- example, founded in 1992 as a joint ven cessible and opened up a number of impor- between Russia,the United States,I tant applications. They are used in the read- and the European Union, seeks to redi ing heads in compact disc players, bar-code money that had originally been allocated readers, laser markers, and optical data stor- weapons research into civilian projects. age, among other things. Light-emitting di- other contributor, the International Scir odes based on heterostructures are found in Foundation, funded by the Hungarian- car brake-lights, traffic lights, and other billionaire George Soros, gave $2 million i warning signals, and some researchers be- the form of gOresearch grants to scientists Iieve that they may one day replace electric the Ioffe Institute between 1994 and tgg6. bulbs. Perhaps the most significant applica- "Despite all our difficulties," Alferov tion for heterostructured-semiconductor Ia' mar|

4 Nobel Prize Winners ANNAN

parliament, the Duma, and at his ne among the first to develoP particularly in plasma physics, as- sian state bodv has allocated an additional e abie to work continuouslY at lcs and semiconductor PhYsics." ursinq thaf riittion in ihr zoor budget to fund de- ture. This refinement enabled of this researchincludes the develop- Srb in electronics- particularly. development of fibre-oPtic of nanotechnology-the engineering of velopment +l- has expressed confidence that Russian n technology, a vital comPo- onic components on the scale of indi- ferov reiearch will experience a renais- ernet. atoms. Another major area of re- scientific "trusted e[o\- was one of the involves uncovering the PhYsical sance. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Zhores I. rg scientists," according to ies of spherical plasmas, Part of an Alferov has received many international meier for Nofure (November to decreasethe costs of fusion reactors. awards for his work, including the Stuart r\r'eregiven permission to vis- insfi1u1s's division of nanoheterostruc- Ballantine Medal from the Franklin Institute lferov spent six months in the closely linked with Alferov's own re- in the United States (1971); the Lenin Prize at the laboratory of Nick ., has contracts with comPanies in (t972); the Hewlett-Packard Europtrysics re University of lllinois at Ur- na, Germany, and South Korea; Alferov Prize (7978); the State Prize from the Soviet gn. rvhere Alferov did imPor- lamented the lack of Russian microelec- Union (rggeh the Ioffe Pfize from the Rus- ;.on the structure and nics companies,which might otherwise ProPer- sian Academy of Science (rgg0); and the rductor lasers.In 1973 Alferov first in line to capitalizeon his discover- Nicholas Holonyak, Jr. Award (zooo), He rairman of optoelectronics at In addition to its research facilities, the has been a member of the Russian Academy State Electrotechnical Univer- has an educational center that takes tal- of Sciencessince LgTgand its vice president BBhe became dean of the fac- secondary school students and helps since 1989.He is the editor-in-chief of a Rus- I and technology at the St. Pe- pe them into the next generation re- 9f sian that is also published in English nical University. rs. Around a quarter of the students iournal under the title Technical Physics Lettets, lllapse of the Soviet Union in in the sciences, and many of the finest and a member of the editorial board of a Rus- 's Ioffe Institute, along with uatesbecome part of the institute's staff. sian journal whose title has been translated ientific research in the former Russia, education and scientific research as "science and Life." The author of 400 ar- ffered drastically from a lack overlap as they do in the U.S., where ticles and 50 inventions in semiconductor though in 1985 the Soviet researChis carried out at universities. technology, Alferov has also written four tronics industry was the Ioffe's educational center is a rare ex- books. In his article for Nafure, Schiermeier largest, following those of the ion, and Alferov intends to use a large "engaging described Alferov as and charis- n. rese€rch and develoPment ion of his Nobel Prize money to support matic, expansive in his gestures and quick to . n ere geared towards the mil- center-an investment, as Alferov sees "it "We laugh," also noting, is clear that-junior il svstem, with little emphasis in the future of science in Russia. coll"eaguesregard him with a respect that ap- el.ectronics. Once that sYstem have an abundance of Problems," Al- "but proaches awe." rc did the country's electron- told Schiermeier, we certainly funds for no lack of scientific talents." as rvell as research ABOUT: Ioffe Institute Web site; Nature organizations Shortly after receiving thg call from itute and other November 23,2000; Nobel e-Museum Web kePt the Ioffe ockholm telling him that he had won the r i.nvestment has site; Science October 20, 2000; Science such Nobel Prize for Phvsics, Alferov re' [, and its ability to attract News October'l'4, 2OOO. een attributed to Alferov's in- ived a second call from Russian President putation for scientific excel- rivate companies and founda- nned for the purpose of foster- rnal scientific collaboration, in, at Alferov's suggestion, agreed to set Annan, Kofi rted grants. The International an advisory council of science and tech- (AN-non, fechnology Center (ISTC), for ogy expert-s, presumably to provide ad- KO-fee) rded in 1.992as a joint venture on how to improve Russia's scientific In his (April B, 1.938- Nobel Prize Peace, ;ia, the United States, JaPan, rusearch and development sectors. ) for "AI- (shared with the united Nations) oean Union, seeks to redirect llofure article, Schiermeier noted: ZfiOt id originally been allocated to &ough the full significance of this move re- The diplomat Kofi Atta Anna was born in rrch into civilian projects. An- rneins unclear, Russian researchers€Ire mon- bhana, on April 8, 1938, a member rtor, the International Science itoring keenly Alferov's emerging status as Kumasi, an upper-class merchant family descend- unded by the Hungarian-born tfutinis unofficial science advisor." Alferov of from iribal chiefs of the Fante group. His orge Soros, gave $2 million in believes the Russian president is ready to ed for activism and leadership skills research grants to scientists at put more emphasis on research, and indeed penchant apparent early on: friends have re- |ute between 1994 and t990. hrtin has agreed to a 10 percent increase in became a successful hunger strike that he or- I our difficulties," Alferov re- funding in ihe hope that new research will called "the ganized at the Ghanaian boarding school he irin Schiermeier, Ioffe in- help sfimulate Russian. industry. Alfgrov in the 1950s, during which he and home to some high qualitY re- himself is a Communist member of the Rus- ittended Nobel Prize Winners 5 ANNAN has, in four decades with the uNtruoNArtoNs, lfr gained the respect of diplomats and national ffr leaders alike. He is known for his kindness tryH and politesse among people at the grassroots cfril4k level as well as among high-ranking diplo- drqr;rN mats, and he is said to command unusual tu lovaltv from lower-echelon U.N. staffers. Be- tween 1.976and tga3 he worked in the per- rl sonnel department at the Office of the U.N. rd fl High Commissioner for Refugees,eventually rl rising to deputy director of administration and head of personnel. He was then reas- h"--f signed to the U.N. headquarters, in New sud rt York City, where he held an array of mana- adl gerial positions, including director of bud- riG get in the Office of Financial Services(tgB+- dwfu 87), assistant secretary-general in the Office Ir rhl of Human Resources Management, security uidc+Eri coordinator for the U.N. (1987-90), and as- I!-S-"s lGl sistant secretary-general for program plan- mryiil ning and controller of budget and finance iltdilrprd United Nations (1eeo-e2). Kofi Annan c(d In 1992 Annan advanced to the U.N.'s iltuEt high-profile peacekeepingdivision. Early in fellow students demanded-and got-better tuit-i the post-Cold War period, when regional food. After attending the University of Sci- ryatbGffi conflict and ethnic strife seemed the order of fi3qil ence and Technology at Kumasi, he enrolled the day, he quickly distinguished himself, at Macalester CoIIege,in St. Paul, Minneso- frry*m first as assistant secretary-general of ta, where he completed his bachelor's de- lrnrd peacekeeping operations and then, from ?3" gree in economics, in 1961. In the following March 1993 until his appointment as secre- tDful vear he continued his education, at the Insti- tary-general, under-secretary-general of iuAlsrfr iut des Hautes Etudes Internationales, in Ge- fu$ peacekeepingoperations. In that last, highly bU-lN{-uel neva, Switzerland. sensitive position, Annan oversaw 17 mili- ' In 1962 Annan accepted a position as an GhE tary operations and a $3.5 billion budget, dilnto il administrative and budget officer at the more than 15 times the size of the 1988 bud- uildine h World Health Organization (WHO), a branch get. Although he was noted for his smooth tHao-q of the U.N. with headquartersin Geneva.Af- diplomacy regarding U.N. involvement in illl ter serving in various other U.N. posts in Ge- the civil wars that erupted in Somalia and tb1 Addis Ababa, the neva, New York City, and Bosnia, Annan expressedclear frustration at bfuspaird capital of Ethiopia, he was named Alfred P. '1.971-72 governments-chief among them that of the rnfril d Led I fellow for the academic year Sloan U.S.-that were unwilling to throw military f,[trI- lmrnlss h at the Massachusetts Inlstitute of Technolo- and financial support behind the Security hkmust akn gy, in Cambridge, where he received a mas- Council's peacekeeping resolutions. "Peacekeeping re qured e ter's degree in management. Except for a is always cheaper than'war," htreIkryYorr two-year stint between 1974 and 1976, he said at a press conferencein March rgg+. m erlitri when he served as managing director of the Annan drew notice as the special repre- lE" 1l Ghana Tourist Development Company, An- sentative for the U.N. peacekeeping opera- *ffi his chx nan has been on the U.N.'s staff since 1,972. tions in the former Yugoslavia, where, be- agilridimd Building his career primarily in a variety tween November 1995 and March 1996, he drilitv b of behind-the-scenes, low-profile bureau- supervised the transfer of peacekeeping du- 'ftU-h{- agruir cratic jobs, Annan has acquired unusually ties from U.N. to NATO-led forces. People -dGre the stdcl broad expertise in peacekeeping and refugee with whom he worked in Yugoslavia ap- hcdug up and el issues as well as in management, adminis- plauded Annan for his negotiating skills, dmbt abd tration, budgeting, and finance. Considered which he demonstrated in his frequent dis- strrant lite I an honest, straightforward manager and ne- cussions with the U.N. ambassadors from poffical will mt gotiator with a singular ability to remain the U.S., Great Britain, France, and Russia. thd hed nrufi cool and good-humored under fire, Annan As one American official commented to a re-

6 Nobel Prize Winners ANNAN rdes with the uNnro NATIoNS, for Newsweek(December 23, 1996)' In fuly 1gg7 Annan unvefled a p/an for wfirch t of diplomats and national come out of that, with all four lambassa- streamlining the U.N.''s bureaucracy, is known tor his kindness feeling that they had never been mis- at the time iupported s0,000 employees.in I His proposal in- rng people at the grassroots il" is what's called diPlomacY." 30 agencies worldwide. and regrouping of lmo"g high-ranking diPlo- By th" fall of 1996, it had become clear cludJd the consolidation secretary- said tb command unusual itn. U.S.,alone €Imongthe membersof 24 agencies that reported to the and se- r-echelon U.N. staffers.Be- SecurityCouncil, was firmly opposedto g"t "i"l into five divisions-peace economic and 1983 he worked in the Per- Boutros-Ghali'sreelection as U.N. Eurity, humanitarian affairs, programs, and nt at the Office of the U.N. ry-general, and the council, which socia'l.welfare, development report to the sec- nerf or Refugees,ev entuallY tnit app ointment, began consi deriag human rights-that would also to a dep-uty s€cre- director of administration candidafes-specifically, African dip- retary-general and creation of the latter sonnel. He was then reas- s, primarily because no African diplo- tary-le"neral, with the plan. (On .N. headquarters, in New ; naa yet sbrved as secretary-general' poiitlott being part of the |anuary Canada's deputy rhe held an array of mana- t couniries came out in support of An- \2, t9lge Louil6 Frechette, defense' was appointed including director of bud- n, who enjoyed an international reservoir minister of national viewed this effort f Financial Services(rga+- ggod wili and was- frequgltty touted,as io tttt post.) While some step toward- saving money' rctarv-general in the Office onlv candidate who could successfully as an iinportant "simply-re- the plan rces Management, securitY nzuish the widespread resentment trig- others co^ntendedt[at at a time when the number he U.N. (1987-90),and as- by the U.S.'s refusal to consent to rhnffl"t the deck to be reduced," as Minnesota general for progrlT Plutt- t-Ghuli't reappointment.The French of cards needs the Republican chair- ller of budget and finance nment stated itJ preference for a leader senator Rod Grams, Foreign Relations Com- a francophone country, but in late De- man of the Senate expressed it. Despite such objec- mLadvanced to the U.N.'s , when all three African nations on mittee, 1997 the General Assem- nkeeping division. EarlY in Securitv Council-including Egypt- tions, in November first package of proposed Yar period, when regional u theirrerr iupportsuppon behindI Annan, France bli "pptoved the designed to save the ic strife seemed the order of w its dissent. tuiotoo, which were (Even after it was ap- *lv distinguished himself, Soon after his appointment, on December U.N. S1'23 million. Statesremained intransi- ani secretary-general of 7, 1996, Annan iemarked, as quoted in proved, the United "I refusal to clear its debt' perations and then, from week (December23, 1996), have 185 ["rt t"g"rding its perceltage of the I his appointment as secre- rrs,"referring to the U.N.'s 185 member Failure"to pay a specified 2099 would have re- nder-s-eiretary-general of ions and thus indicating his keen appre- arrears bylanuart 1, the United States' seat enations. In that last, highlY tion of the U.N. as a truly international sulted in-the loss-of Finally, in Novem- n. Annan oversaw 17 mili- ization. (The number of member na- in the General Assembly. passedbudget legislation and a $3.5 billion budget, has since risen to 189.) His dedication ber 1999, Congress million for iepayment of resthe size of the 1988 bud- consensus-building became clear when ""r*"tting $Ers which by then totaled some , \\ as noted for his smooth announced that a comprehensive U.N' re- the back dtut, dine U.N. involvement in packaqe-upon which the U.S. Con- $1 billion.) a strong rat e-rupted in Somalia and r had pt"tdic"ied the payrnentof its mas- Annan has expressed -commit- development and the p-ur- xpressed clear frustration at debt t^othe organizafion-would not be ment to economiC "Intoler- everywhere' hief among them that of the nced until at least mid-summer 1997, r"it of social iustice oppression-and their unrvilling to throw militarY all U.N. members had been consulted' "tt"u, iniustice, and - no national fron- rpport behind the SecuritY , good leader must also be a good follow- consequences-respecl - in an address to the U'N' ac-ekeeping resolutions. -" he was quoted as saying by Elain-e tiers," he declared shortly afrterhis appoint- s alrvays cheaPer than \l/4r," in the NewYorkTimes (February 9' General Assembly iolino as quoted by the r conferencein March 1994. 7). Earlier, an editorial in the Chicago- ment as secretary-general, a tivible World (fanuary 10' notice as the sPecial repre- rune (December18, 1996) had expressed Council for "We He also said, now know r U.N. peacekeePingoPe_ra- imism about his chances of successfully iggr, on-line). that sustainable economic mer Yugoslavia, where, be- more than ever is not merely a matter of r 1995 ind March 1996, he al"utop*uttt proiecti It is, above all, a mat- ransfer of peacekeePing du- and statistics. people with basic needs: o NATO-lbd forces. PeoPIe i* i,f people-real and medical care'" vvorked in Yugoslavia aP- can be dug up and expotuq." But others food, llotitittg, shelter, opened with the threat of r for his negotiating skills, essed doubt about whether a career The year rbge between Iraq and the nstrated in his frequent dis- civil servant Iike Annan could sum- a violent confrontafion issue of weapons in- he U.N. ambassadors from the political will to change the v-erybu- United States over the Hussein, the president-of Britain, France, and Russia. :racv that had nurtured his advance- sDections.Saddam the U'N' lifted the n official commented to a re- iiaq, insisted that unless Nobel Prize Winners ANNAN economic sanctions that it had imposed in efforts to resolve tlle issue came to 1990, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, his and on December 16, 1998-in what "sad country would continue to bar inspectors describedas a dav" for the world from sites (including what were labeled himself-the U.S., with support from presidential palaces) where, it was believed, Britain, bombedtargets in Iraq. But Sa Iraq had stockpiled biological and chemical Husseinrefused to budge, and no i weapons, long-range ballistic missiles, and tions of suspectedIraqi storagesites other weapons of mass destruction. The place in 1999.1'Yes, [the Iraqis] didn't United States,meanwhile, had warned Hus- up to the undertaking," Annan ackn "But sein that the U.S. was prepared to unleash edged to Barbara Crossette. does air strikes on Iraq if he did not cooperate mean we should not try diplomacy? I kr with the inspectors; indeed, in anticipation some people have accused me of using of such an attack, the U.S. had deployed an plomacy. That's my job. That's what armada of warships in the Persian GuIf. De- paid for." termined to end the deadlock by means of In March 1998 Annan visited the Mi diplomacy rather than force-"I kept asking, East. In a speech to the Palestinian 'After the bombing, then what?"' he ex- tive Council in GazaCity, he urged plained to Crossette-Annan met face-to- regarding the Arab-Israeli peace process face with Hussein in Iraq. "I had to deal with nonviolence. Later, addressing the him to avoid a tragedy and to save lives," Foreign Relations Council in West J Annan said during an interview for Time Iem, he said that the U.N. had someti (March 9, 1998). "Once I got through to him actedunfairlv toward Israel.But he also and explained what was at stake, and what cused Israel bf purposely undermining he could do for his nation and his people, good will of its neighbors by establish and what he would face if he did not agree, settlements in Palestinian areas and im he got focused. . . . When he said, 'I know ing hardships on Palestinians, and he you are a courageous man,' I realized he was upon Israeli officials to soften their attitr probably warming to me, but otherwise I toward Palestinians. Two months later saw no sign. It was at that point that I moved went to Africa, where he made stops in "healing into the critical issues. . . . [The Iraqisl are countries. In what he termed a very keen to get rid of the sanctions. I made sion" to Rwanda, he appeared before it very clear to him that the only way to do Rwandan Parliament. Following a vehe that is to cooperate with [the U.N. Special denunciation by Anastase Gasana,the Comsrission, which was set up in 1991 to try's foreign minister, of the U.N.'s act ensure the elimination of Iraq's weapons of in Rwanda in 1994, Annan-who had mass destruction]." been under-secretary-general for peacekeep The result was the so-called Memo of Un- ing operations-acknowledged the inade- derstanding, dated February 22, 1998, quacy of the organization's response to the whereby Iraq, by accepting all previous Se- widespread massacre of Tutsi civilians by curity Council resolutions pertaining to the Hutu militants. His failure, in that speech, to issue, agreed to "unconditional and unre- iapologize for the U.N.'s dismal performance stricted" inspections and the eradication of or to assume part of the blame himself an- various weapons. The Security Council ap- gered many Rwandan lawmakers, among proved the pact on March 2; at the same them the nation's. president, Pasteur Bizi- time, the council raised from $4 billion to mungu, and deputy president, PauI Kagame, $7.4 billion the annual limit on Iraq's sales who refused to attend a reception held in of oil, the money from which was to be used Annan's honor. to buy food and medicine and pay for re- At the opening session of the General As- pairs of the country's crumbling infrastruc- sembly in September 1998, Annan urged the ture. In some quarters, Annan was regarded organization to intervene in the growing as a hero for securing the agreement; others conflict between Serb forces and ethnic AI- expressed doubt that Iraq would abide by banians in the Serbian province of Kosovo. the agreement for long. The skeptics were That intervention started to materialize in right: On August 5, L998 Hussein again halt- fune 1999, when the Security Council voted ed inspections, claiming that Iraq had fuI- to send a NATO-led peacekeeping force of filled its end of the deal and demanding that 50,000 troops into Kosovo and to assigntem- the sanctions be removed. Annan's renewed porary responsibility for administering the

I Nobel Prize Winners ANNAN

U.N. tions in the 21"st Century. According to a , the issue came to naught, ceto the U.N.The newlv created "the r 16. 1998-in what Annan ion in Kosovo (UNMIK), headed bY the U.N. press release,the report was most iad da\"' for the world and minister of health, Bernard Koucher comprehensive presentation of the UN's i.. u-ith support from Great co-founder of DocroRSwITHour nonorns), was mission in its S5-yearhistory." In particular, targetsin Iraq. But Saddam the formidable task of forming a 3,000- it set forth an ambitious agenda that includ- to budge, and no insPec- r multinational police force, setting ed reducing by 50 percent, by the year 2015, ed iraqi storage sites took a judicial system, dealing with human- the number of people living in extreme pov- fes. [the Iraqis] didn't live abuses, tackling the problems antici- erty and lacking safe water; ensuring, also by rtaking," Annan acknowl- with the return of hundreds of thou- 2015, that all children complete the primary "But r Crossette. does that of ethnic Albanian refugees, and re- grades and that females and males have not try diplomacy? I know ng homes and infrastructure. The con- equal accessto education; decreasingby 25 re accused me of using di- I presence of the Kosovo Liberation percent HIV infection rates among people L5 rnr- job. That's what I'm y (a guerrilla group composed of ethnic ihrough Z|yearc old within the next decade; be- mians) and still-intense animosity improving the living conditions of some Middle Albanians com- i Arnan visited the Serbs and ethnic 100 million slum dwellers in the next 20 Legisla- UNMIK faced. As to the Palestinian ed the difficulties years; expanding the accessof poor nations City, he urged patience late November L999, Steven Erlanger re- aza io the markets of industrialized countries by rb-Israelipeace process and in the New York Times (November phasing out duties and quotas; instituting ter. addressing the Israeli 1999), intolerance and the widespread debt-forgiveness measures for poor coun- s Council in West ferusa- for revenge were thwarting progress tries; taking stepsto increaseworld security, rt the U.N. had sometimes the creation of a peaceful, multieth- "through firmer enforcement of internation- n"ald Israel. But he also ac- h, democratic, self-governing province. al humanitarian and human rights law" and rurposely undermining the In June 1998, in what Annan referred to, to encourage disarmament; and neighbors by establishing an interview with Afsand Bassir Pour for programs "a health of the planet for future rlestinian €reasand imPos- Monde (on-line), as giant step that we ensuring the "We must put people at the Palestinians,and he called taken for future generations," the U.N. generatibns. we do," Annan de- ;ials to soften their attitude ted the International Criminal Court, in ientre of everything "those "No noble, and no re- ans. Two months later he , to bring to justice who commit clared. calling is more ,herehe made stops in eight s against humanity." Describing what sponsibility greater, than that of enabling "healing "completely rt he termed a mis- termed the unjust situation" men, women and children, in cities and vil- "because a, he appeared before the had existed the necessaryin- Iages around the world, to make their lives nent. Following a vehement tional framework did not exist," he better. Only when that begins to happen will AnastaseGasana, the coun- that someone who kills an individual we know that globalization is indeed be- "in rister. of the U.N.'s actions ld, all likelihood, be tried and pun- coming inclusive, allowing everyone to 194,Annan-who had then , but someone who kills a hundred share its opportunities." rtarv-general for peacekeeP- usand will not be brought to justice; that Annan faced many challenges in 2000. -acknowledged the inade- uaacceptable. We have seen that crimi- Peacekeepingmissions in EastTimor, Sierra anization's response to the ls like the former chief of the Khmer Leone, Kosovo, and the Democratic Repub- sacre of Tutsi civilians bY lin Cambodia], PoI Pot, have never lic of Congo, among others, severelY Iis failure, in that sPeech,to punished." Other matters that required Nations 's strained the resources of the United U,N.'s dismal performance attention included reported mis- peacekeeping department, which, witlr ap- (who rt of the blame himself an- duct of U.N. peacekeeping troops proximately 400 employees, is only half the nations). In randan lawmakers, among citizens of various member iize of the organization's public-information issued a directive stipu- L'spresident, Pasteur Bizi- ust 1999 Annan staff. In March 2000 Annan appointed an in- Kagame, ing that all troops under U.N. command ntv president, Paul ternational panel to come up with ways in reception held in follow international laws-prominent attend a which peacekeepingmissions could be han- g them the Geneva Conventions- "Partly dled more effectively. it is a question g sessionof the General As- rnmgning behaviorDenavror ofoI soldierssololers duringourur8, war- of being clearer about what [the missions] nber r998, Annan urged the , with the aim of safeguarding civilians are trying to do. And partly it is a question intervene in the growing prisoners of war. Signed to date by 1BB of getting the nuts and bolts right," Annan r Serb forces and ethnic Al- ons fbut not the United States), the Ge- as quoted by Barbara Crossette in erbian province of Kosovo. treva Conventions prohibit the use of land explained, York Times (March 8, 2000). rn started to materialize in rrinss, booby traps, and other weapons of th; New the panel, Annan called for rthe Security Council voted fodiscriminate destruction. Backed up by and reorganizing t!" )-led peacekeeping force of In April 2oo0 Annan issued what the U.N. strengthening and enlarging the lo,Kosovo and to assigntem- referred to as a millennium report, entitled peac"keeping department bilitv for administering the We the Peoples: The Role of the United Na- U.N. Securitv Council. Nobel Prize Winners