text: who was the un secretary-general before kofi annan?   previous secretaries-general were:  sir gladwyn jebb - united kingdom - 1945-46 trygve halvdan lie - norway - 1946-52 dag hammarskjöld - sweden - 1953-61 u thant - burma - 1961-71 kurt waldheim - austria - 1972-81 javier pérez de cuéllar - peru - 1982-91 boutros boutros-ghali - egypt - 1992-96 kofi annan - ghana - 1997-present (his term expires at the end of '06)