Profile of Ban Ki-moon

[mhmmdkashif]

Introduction
Ban Ki-moon (IPA pronunciation: [pan gi mun]; born 13 June 1944 in Chungju, Korea) is the current Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (i.e. South Korea), a position he has held since January 2004. On 13 October 2006, Ban became the Secretary-General-designate of the United Nations when he was elected by the United Nations General Assembly, and will succeed current Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 1 January 2007.

Education
Ban received his bachelor's degree in international relations from Seoul National University in 1970 and earned a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985.

Personal
Ban is married and has a son and two daughters. He identifies himself as a non-denominational Christian. He is a member of the "Nonchurch Movement" (Mugyohoe), a movement founded by Uchimura Kanzo which spread to Korea in the 1920s. Its members, mostly intellectuals, make the Gospel a source of inspiration for their private and public life.

In addition to his native Korean, Ban is fluent in English and French.

As a high school student in the early 1960s, Ban met US President John F. Kennedy in Washington DC after winning an English language competition organised by the American Red Cross, after which time he resolved to become a diplomat.

Career
Ban Ki-moon with World Bank President Paul WolfowitzBan's first overseas posting after joining the Korean foreign service was to New Delhi. After working in the United Nations Division at the foreign ministry's headquarters, he served as First Secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of South Korea to the UN in New York City. He subsequently assumed the post of Director of the United Nations Division. He has been posted twice to the ROK Embassy in Washington D.C. Between these two assignments he served as Director-General for American Affairs in 1990-1992. He was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations in 1995. He was then appointed National Security Advisor to the President in 1996, and assumed the office of Vice Minister in 2000. His most recent post was as Foreign Policy Advisor to the President Roh Moo-hyun.

While serving as Ambassador to Austria, Ban was elected as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom) in 1999. During the ROK’s Presidency of the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (GA) in 2001, he worked as Chef de Cabinet of the President of the GA.

Ban has been actively involved in issues relating to inter-Korean relations. In 1992, he served as Vice Chairman of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission, following the adoption by South and North Korea of the Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In September 2005, as Foreign Minister, he played a leading role in the diplomatic efforts to adopt the Joint Statement on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue at the Fourth Round of the Six-Party Talks held in Beijing.

UN Secretary-General candidacy
In February 2006, Ban declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006. It is the first time a South Korean has run in the election for Secretary-General.

Ban topped each of the four straw polls conducted by the UN Security Council on 24 July, 14 September, 28 September and 2 October.

In the 2 October informal poll, Ban received fourteen favorable votes and one "no opinion" from the fifteen member Security Council, the Japanese delegation the only nation not in full agreement. More importantly, Ban was the only one to escape a veto, while each of the five other candidates received at least one "no" vote from the five permanent members of the council — People's Republic of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. After the vote, Shashi Tharoor, who finished second, withdrew his candidacy and China's Permanent Representative to the UN told reporters that "it is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-moon is the candidate that the Security Council will recommend to the General Assembly."

Awards
Ban has twice been awarded the Order of Service Merit in 1975 and 1986 by the Government of the Republic of Korea. For his accomplishments as an envoy, he received the Grand Decoration of Honour from the Republic of Austria in 2001. A year later, the government of Brazil bestowed the Grand Cross of Rio Branco upon him. In September 2005, the Korea Society in New York honoured him with the Van Fleet Award for his contributions to US-ROK friendship.

[Muskan Ghuman]

Salam,

Informative post about the upcoming Us tout.
Thanx for sharing.

Regards,

[I M Possible]

Thnx buddy.... Thnx for timely information.

[humayun "The King"]

Thanx Kashif...........

[maria khan]

Few weeks ago a report was published in LONDON TIMES regarding the trickery that was so done by Seoul in the selection of UN seceretary general. According to that report South Korean foreign ministry has made dozens of DEALS with UN's member nations, in other words it has greased their palms to abdicate their subjects and clean the way for BAN KI MOON.

So once this fresh Sceretary General has appointed on partiality, how can he exercise idealy?

What do u say about it Kashif?

ALLAH PE AMAN

[mhmmdkashif]

@maria
Well this is only my view dear maria, i dont see anything wrong in offering someone to get his vote. Everyone votes for those who give them a good deal and solve their problem (that includes us as well, when we see politics in our country). If Seoul's offers are so much attractive that member have even given up their own nominees, i think that worths appraisal.