Kofi Annan has been the Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1997 and will stop at the end of this year. You can read about his accomplishements in his Bio or at Wikipedia.

What concerns me are of course his gestures. How does he gesture when he is talking, addressing a crowd, or attending a meeting?

One of his last speeches, December 10 in the UK.

It think I can safely say Mr. Annan is not a big gesturer. He seems very much in control of his gestures. In fact, his entire bearing, his speaking as well as his gesturing always appear thoughtful and studied, though not in a boring way. His most frequent gesture? Kofi Annan often folds his hands together, either with the fingers of two flat hands opposed or with the fingers intertwined (whenever he makes reference to ‘together’ I think).

One more thing: Over the years there have been countless headlines featuring ‘Kofi Annan’ and ‘gesture’. These were almost exclusively about him making ‘a gesture of goodwill’, ‘a gesture of confidence’, or ‘a gesture of support’. In other words, he often spoke words that were perceived by the general public as communicating more than just the literal meaning. People paid attention to the message and the attitude underlying his words and actions. In this sense he resembles the Pope.