Jeffrey Laurenti

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, holds a map as he addresses the Security Council session focusing on the new Trump proposal for the Mideast, Feb. 11, 2020. Abbas described the proposed land configurations by the United States and Israel as resembling “Swiss cheese.” ESKINDER DEBEBE/UN PHOTO
President Trump has made good on his campaign promises to redefine America’s relationship with the rest of the world — for better or for worse — and the United Nations has in many ways been the epicenter of his “American First” policy abroad.

Kofi Annan, possibly the most beloved UN secretary-general, died on Aug. 18, 2018, at age 80, in Bern, Switzerland. After he left the UN in 2006, he joined The Elders, a group that uses diplomacy to resolve intractable problems. THE ELDERS