Mr. Brian Gleeson
Senior Adviser to the Administrator, UNDP26 March 2002
I was working at the United Nations in New York on secondment from the Australian Government when Mr. Kofi Annan was elected for his first term as Secretary-General. I was a member of the Management Reform Group, which was involved in the preparation of a number of his first reform strategy papers.
Having worked in the public sector for over thirty years in the Australian Government, working closely with Ministers and Prime Ministers, and having been involved in a number of international activities, I can honestly say that there has been no one that has received such tumultuous and widespread support as Mr. Annan received when he was elected Secretary-General. His first visit back to the UN building was an emotional and uplifting experience for all UN staff members — he was a Secretary-General who was once one of them. The Secretary-General continues to be an inspiration, a leader through results, a role model for others to aspire to and a peace broker in whom we have our trust and hope.
