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Ban Ki-moon

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Ban Ki-moon
8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Assumed office
January 1 2007
Preceded byKofi Annan
Personal details
Born (1944-06-13) June 13, 1944 (age 80)[1]
Eumseong, North Chungcheong, Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
SpouseYoo Soon-taek

Ban Ki-moon (Hangul: 반기문, Hanja: 潘基文, RR: Ban Gi-mun, M-R: Pan Kimun, IPA pronunciation: [pan.gi.mun]) (born June 13 1944 in Eumseong, North Chungcheong, Korea[1]) is a South Korean diplomat and the current Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban had been a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated college, accepting his first post in New Delhi. In the foreign ministry he established a reputation for modesty and competence. Ban was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea from January 2004 to November 1 2006. On October 13 2006, he was elected to be the eighth Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly. On January 1, 2007, he succeeded Kofi Annan.

Early life

Ban, the oldest of six children, was born in Eumseong, in a small farming village in North Chungcheong, in 1944, when Korea was controlled by Japan. Ban was raised in Chungju, a nearby town where his family moved when he was 3.[2] As a child, Ban's father had a warehouse business, but the warehouse went bankrupt and the family lost its middle-class standard of living. When Ban was 6, his family fled to a remote mountainside for the duration of the Korean War.[1] After the war, Ban's family returned to Chungju. The U.S. military troops in Korea were the first Americans Ban ever met.[3]

Education

In secondary school Ban became a star pupil, particularly in his studies of English. According to local stories, Ban would regularly walk 6 miles to a fertilizer factory to practice English with the factory's American advisors.[2] In 1956, he was selected by his class to address a message to then U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, but it is unknown if the message was ever sent. In 1962, Ban won an essay contest sponsored by the Red Cross and earned a trip to the United States. As part of the trip, Ban met U.S. President John F. Kennedy.[1] When asked by a journalist at the meeting what Ban wanted to be when he grew up, he said "I want to become a diplomat."[3]

Ban received a 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.[3]

Personal

Ban Ki-moon married his secondary school's student council president, Yoo Soon-taek, in 1971. They are still married and have two daughters and a son.[1] In addition to his native Korean, Ban speaks English, French, Japanese and German, according to his curriculum vitae. However, there have been questions on the extent of his knowledge of French, one of the two working languages of the United Nations.[4]

After his selection as U.N. Secretary General, Ban became an icon in his home town. Over 50,000 gathered in a soccer stadium in Chungju for celebration. In the months after his appointment, thousands of practitioners of feng shui went to his village to determine how it produced such an important person.[2]

Ban himself is not a member of any church or religious group.[5] Ban's mother is reportedly a Buddhist.[2]

Diplomatic career

Ban Ki-moon with Condoleezza Rice.

Ban joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 1970, and worked his way up during the years of the Yusin Constitution.

His first overseas posting was to New Delhi, after which he worked in the United Nations Division at the foreign ministry's headquarters. At the time of Park Chung Hee's assassination, Ban had climbed to the position of First Secretary at South Korea's Permanent Observer Mission to the UN in New York City (South Korea only became a full UN member state on September 17 1991). He subsequently assumed the post of Director of the United Nations Division. He has been posted twice to the Republic of Korea (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. Ban's lengthy career overseas has been credited with helping him avoid South Korea's unforgiving political environment.[6]

In 1999, 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 what Ban considers the biggest blunder of his career, during the negotiations, he included a positive statement about the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in a public letter with Russia in 2001, shortly after the United States had decided to abandon the treaty. To avoid anger from the United States, Ban was fired by Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who also issued a public apology for Ban's statement.[1]

Ban lacked work for the only time in his life and was expecting to receive an assignment to work in a remote and unimportant embassy.[1] In 2001, during the 56th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Republic of Korea held the rotating presidency. To his surprise, he was selected to be the chief of staff to general assembly president Han Seung-soo. [7]

In 2004, Ban replaced Yoon Young-kwan as foreign minister of Korea under president Roh Moo Hyun.[3] Ban has been actively involved in issues relating to inter-Korean relationships. 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.[8] 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.[9][10]

Personality

Ban's personality has been described as bland. In the Korean Foreign Ministry his nickname was "the Bureaucrat." The Korean press corps calls him "the slippery eel" for his ability to dodge questions.[3] His demeanor has also been described as a "Confucian approach."[6]

Awards

Ban has been awarded the Order of Service Merit by the Government of the Republic of Korea on three occasions: in 1975, 1986 and 2006.[9] 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 honored him with the James A. Van Fleet Award for his contributions to friendship between the United States and the Republic of Korea.[11]

Campaign for Secretary-General

File:Yudhoyono BanKiMoon.jpg
Ban Ki-moon with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In February 2006, Ban declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006, becoming the first South Korean to run for the office.[12] Over the next eight months, Ban made ministerial visits to every country with a seat on the security council.[3] He topped each of the four straw polls conducted by the UN Security Council on July 24,[13] 14 September,[14] September 28[15] and October 2.[16]

On September 25, 2006, while these polls were being conducted, Ban addressed the Asia Society in New York on his candidacy and views on major issues confronting the UN.[17] The next day he gave an interview to the Asia Society's AsiaSource, focusing again on the upcoming challenges to be faced by the UN. Earlier in the year he had addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.[18]

In order to be confirmed Ban needed to be able to avoid a veto from each of the five permanent members of the council — People's Republic of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Ban was popular in Washington for having pushed to send South Korean troops to Iraq. Ban also opposed several U.S. interests: he expressed his support for the International Criminal Court and favored an entirely non-confrontational approach to dealing with North Korea.[3] Ban has said that he would like to visit North Korea and meet with Kim Jong Il directly.[10]

Subsequently, in an informal poll on October 2, Ban received fourteen favorable votes and one abstention ("no opinion") from the fifteen members of the Security Council. 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.[19] After the vote, Shashi Tharoor, who finished second, withdrew his candidacy[20] 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."[21]

Wikinews has related news:

On October 9, the Security Council formally chose Ban as its nominee. On October 13, the 192-member General Assembly adopted a resolution, by acclamation, appointing Ban as Secretary-General.[7]

Term as Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon with George W. Bush

When Ban became secretary-general, The Economist listed the major challenges facing him in 2007: "rising nuclear demons in Iran and North Korea, a haemorrhaging wound in Darfur, unending violence in the Middle East, looming environmental disaster, escalating international terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the spread of HIV/AIDs. And then the more parochial concerns, such as the largely unfinished business of the most sweeping attempt at reform in the UN's history."[22]

On January 1, 2007 Ban took office as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His first foreign trip was to attend the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January of 2007 as part of an effort to reach out to the Group of 77.[22]

On the issue on Taiwan's status, Ban remains conservative in action. In 2007, Nauru, raised the issue of allowing the Republic of China to sign The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Ban reacted by referencing the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, refused this motion on the grounds that The Republic of China does not has the requirements to sign the convention.[23]

On 19th, July, 2007, the President of the Republic of China wrote to request admission into the UN by the name Taiwan. Ban rejected this request without the consultation of the reviewing office, as normal procedures dictate.


Baghdad attack

On Thursday, March 22, 2007, while taking part in a press conference in Baghdad's green zone, a mortar attack hit close to where the Secretary-General was standing, interrupting the conference and visibly shaking Ban and others. No one was hurt in the incident.[24]

Criticism

Ban's official biography states that he speaks both English and French, the two working languages of the UN Secretariat. He has struggled to answer questions in French from journalists, notably at the press conference following his induction as UN Secretary General.[4] Acknowledging his limitations at his next press conference on 11 January, Ban remarked, “my French perhaps could be improved, and I am continuing to work. I have taken French lessons over the last few months. I think that, even if my French isn't perfect, I will continue to study it.” [25]

As the election of the successor to the Secretary-General Kofi Annan drew closer there was rising criticism of the South Korean campaign on Ban's behalf. Specifically, his alleged practice of systematically visiting all member states of the Security Council in his role as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade to secure votes in his support by signing trade deals with European countries and pledging foreign aid to developing countries were the focus of some news articles.[26]

According to the Washington Post, "rivals have privately grumbled that Republic of Korea, which has the world's 11th-largest economy, has wielded its economic might to generate support for his candidacy". Ban reportedly has said that these insinuations are "groundless". In an interview on 17 September 2006 he reportedly stated: "As front-runner, I know that I can become a target of this very scrutinizing process" and "I am a man of integrity."[27]

Perhaps an attempt at a comeback to claims of a lack of charisma would explain his singing of a version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, where he replaced the words 'Santa Claus' with his own name at the 2006 UN Correspondents dinner early in December.[28]

Opponents of capital punishment voiced concern when Ban, at his first encounter with the press as Secretary-General on 2 January 2007, refused to condemn the death penalty imposed on Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi High Tribunal, remarking that “The issue of capital punishment is for each and every Member State to decide.” [29] He quickly clarified his stand in the case of Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar, two top officials who were convicted of the deaths of 148 Shia Muslims in the Iraqi village of Dujail in the 1980s. In a statement through his spokesperson on 6 January, he “strongly urged the Government of Iraq to grant a stay of execution to those whose death sentences may be carried out in the near future.” [30] On the broader issue, he told a Washington, D.C., audience on 16 January that he recognized and encouraged the “growing trend in international society, international law and domestic policies and practices to phase out eventually the death penalty.”[31]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Warren Hoge (2006-12-09). "For New U.N. Chief, a Past Misstep Leads to Opportunity". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d Martin Fackler (2006-12-22). "On His Ancestrs' Wings, a Korean Soars to the U.N.". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Maggie Farley and Bruce Wallace (2006-10-09). "Aspiring U.N. Chief Is a Harmonizer, Not a Rock Star; South Korean career diplomat Ban Ki-moon may lack charisma, but he has many fans". The Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ a b "Is Ban Ki-moon a franco-phoney?". CBC News. 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  5. ^ "Correction: Ban Ki-moon". The Economist. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  6. ^ a b "Can This Guy Run the U.N.?". Time Magazine. 2006-10-16.
  7. ^ a b Warren Hoge (2006-10-14). "South Korean Is Appointed Secretary General of the U.N.". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Profile: Ban Ki-moon". BBC News. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  9. ^ a b "Official U.N. biography". un.org. Retrieved 2007-08-12.
  10. ^ a b Lally Weymouth (2006-10-23). "A Baptism by Fire; Even before taking office, the newly elected secretary-general of the United Nations is confronted with a global crisis". Newsweek.
  11. ^ "Samsung Chairman Lee Receives Van Fleet Award". KBS World. 2006-09-20. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Song-wu, Park (2006-02-14). "Minister Ban to Run for Top UN Job". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Ban takes 1st Straw Poll". UNSG.org. 2006-07-24. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Ban firms up lead in second Straw Poll". UNSG.org. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Ban slips but holds, Vike Freiberga pushes into third". UNSG.org. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ "Ban Ki-moon wins". UNSG.org. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ "The Quest for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and Beyond". Ban Ki-moon address to Asia Society (transcript). 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  18. ^ "Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon interview". Asiasource.org. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  19. ^ "Ban vows to reform U.N. if given top job". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2006-10-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Shashi Tharoor pulls out of UN race". NDTV.com. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "United Nations Webcast of announcement". United Nations. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  22. ^ a b "Mission impossible? - The United Nations". The Economist. 2007-01-06.
  23. ^ "MOFA spokesman slams Ban Ki-moon for rejecting UN bid". Taipei Times. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  24. ^ Rocket blast shakes UN chief in Baghdad Xinhua - 2007-03-23
  25. ^ "Secretary-General's press conference". United Nations. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  26. ^ "Millions of dollars and a piano may put Korean in UN's top job". The Times. 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  27. ^ "S. Korean Contender for U.N. Post Has an Edge". The Washington Post. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  28. ^ "Don't Ban Your Instincts, Ban Ki-moon". The Washington Post. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  29. ^ "Secretary-General's encounter with the UN press corps (transcript)". United Nations. 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  30. ^ "Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on the death sentences in Iraq". United Nations. 2007-01-06. Retrieved 2007-08-02.
  31. ^ "Address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Q&A (transcript)". United Nations. 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2007-08-02.

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