The eighth Secretary-General of the UN: a top administrator and disarmament expert takes the helm.The General Assembly, acting on the Security Council's recommendation, adopted on 13 October 2006 a resolution formally appointing Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-Moon (bän kē-m  n), 1944–, South Korean diplomat, secretary-general of the United Nations (2007–), b. Chungju, grad. Seoul National Univ. (B.S. as the eighth Secretary-General of the United
Nations, giving him a transition period of two and a half months before
taking over from Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1 1997 to January 1 2007, serving two five-year terms. He was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. on 1 January 2007.
The Secretary-General designate brings a unique managerial experience to the United Nations. As Minister of Foreign Affairs foreign affairs pl.n. Affairs concerning international relations and national interests in foreign countries. and Trade of the Republic of Korea since January 2004, Mr. Ban has more than 35 years of distinguished service both in government and on the global stage. Rising through the ranks in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has represented a divided nation that has emerged from the total destruction of war to become a thriving democracy and market economy during the past three decades. His guiding vision has been that of a peaceful Korean Peninsula playing an expanding role for peace and prosperity in the region and the world. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mr. Ban's first overseas posting was in New Delhi New Delhi (dĕl`ē), city (1991 pop. 294,149), capital of India and of Delhi state, N central India, on the right bank of the Yamuna River. , India, where he was able to acquire first-hand experience on development issues. His bilateral assignments include two terms at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, DC, United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . From 1990 to 1992, he served as Director-General of American Affairs and in 1995 became Deputy Minister for Policy Planning. He was appointed National Security Advisor A National Security Advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. He or she is not usually a member of the cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. to the President in 1996 and became Vice Minister in 2000. In 1996, as Deputy Minister of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ban was one of the key players in the founding of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM ASEM Asia-Europe Meeting ASEM American Society for Engineering Management (Rolla, MO) ASEM Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine ASEM Assembly of Station by EVA Methods ASEM Application-Specific Electronic Module ) for Asia-Europe Cooperation. In 2000, he oversaw the preparations for his country's hosting of the 3rd ASEM Summit in Seoul. His contributions to strengthening regional cooperation have also extended to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: see under Pacific Rim. (APEC APEC in full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Trade group established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional economic blocs (such as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area) ), representing his Government in the APEC senior official meetings in 1995. In 2005, with the Republic of Korea hosting APEC, he has chaired his Government's Preparation and Planning Committee for the APEC Summit in Busan, as well as the 17th APEC Ministerial Meeting. Former Foreign Minister Ban has nurtured longstanding ties with the United Nations, dating back to 1975 during his days as a staff member in the UN Division at the Ministry's home office. The work expanded over the years with assignments as First Secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Director of the UN Division at headquarters and Ambassador to Vienna, during which time he served as Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty nuclear test-ban treaty: see disarmament, nuclear. Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty officially Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water Organization in 1999. His experience over the years provided a firm base for his instrumental role in his country's successful presidency of the fifty-sixth session of the UN General Assembly in 2001. As Chef-de-Cabinet to the Assembly President during an extraordinary year in the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks, he put his diplomatic and leadership skills to the test in engendering the spirit of cooperation and unity among Member States. From his role in facilitating the prompt adoption of the first resolution (56/1) of the Assembly session, condemning the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to his initiative in amending the rules of procedure for the early election of the General Assembly President in order to have a smooth transition, his efforts were pivotal in turning the year that started out in crisis and confusion into one of the most productive and reform-oriented sessions of the General Assembly. Mr. Ban has long been actively involved in issues relating to inter-Korean relations. In 1992, as Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister, he served as Vice Chair of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission, following the adoption by the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea The People's Republic of Korea (PRK) was a short-lived provisional government organized to take over control of the country after the Surrender of Japan at the end of the Pacific War. It existed in August and September 1945. of the historic Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. As Foreign Minister 13 years later, he played a leading role in bringing about another landmark agreement for peace and stability on the Peninsula with the adoption in September 2005 at the Six Party Talks of the joint statement on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. Mr. Ban received his bachelor's degree in international relations from Seoul National University Not to be confused with the University of Seoul. Seoul National University (SNU) is a national research university in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, SNU was the first national university in South Korea, and served as a model for the many national and public in 1970 and earned a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. For his exemplary service to his country, he was awarded the Order of Service Merit twice, in 1975 and 1986. For his accomplishments as an envoy, he received the Grand Decoration of Honor from the Republic of Austria in 2001. A year later, the Government of Brazil bestowed on him the Grand Cross of Rio Blanco. In September 2005, the Korea Society in New York honoured Mr. Ban with the Van Fleet Award for his contributions to the United States-Republic of Korea friendship. In 2006, the Peruvian Government awarded him the Gran Cruz del Sol (Great Cross of the Sun), Peru's highest Order of Diplomatic Service Merit. He was decorated with the National Order of Merit Order of Merit Noun Brit an order awarded for outstanding achievement in any field by the Government of Algeria, as well as the Commemorative Medal of Hero of Freedom by the Republic of Hungary. Shortly after, he received another National Order of Merit, this time the Grand Silver Cross Medal of Jose Matias Delgado, from the Government of El Salvador. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mr. Ban was born on 13 June 1944. He is married to Madam Yoo Soon-taek. They have one son and two daughters. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to:
RELATED ARTICLE: SECRETARIES-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS Trygve Lie, Norway 1946-1953 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dag Hammarskjold, Sweden 1953-1961 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] U Thant, Burma (now Myanmar) 1961-1971 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kurt Waldheim, Austria 1972-1981 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Javier Perez de Cuellar Pé·rez de Cuél·lar , Javier Born 1920. Peruvian diplomat who served as secretary-general of the United Nations (1982-1991). , Peru 1982-1991 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egypt 1992-1996 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kofi Annan, Ghana 1997-2006 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ban Ki-moon, Republic of Korea 2007 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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