Ban Ki-moon Of South Korea Takes UN Helm

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Ban Ki-moon of South Korea officially took over as the eighth secretary general of the United Nations on Monday, succeeding Kofi Annan on New Year's Day in a post considered one of the toughest in the world. Ban, 62, was elected by the 192-nation UN General Assembly in October in the most transparent election in UN history, chosen over half a dozen candidates from the Middle East and Eastern Europe to Asia. The post of UN secretary general has expanded over the years - controversially in some eyes - from being chief administrative officer to that of a moral voice and top diplomat of the world organization. The UN leader is expected to meet the needs of all 192 members, but it is a near impossible job to please every one of them. At his swearing in ceremony last month, Ban Ki-moon promised to continue reforming an organization he suggested had been badly damaged by corruption and ethical questions in its recent past. Ban vowed to "restore trust in the organization" and promote the "highest ethical standards," in the wake of corruption scandals that tarnished the last few years of outgoing Annan's 10-year tenure. "The good name of the UN is one of its most valuable assets," Ban said after taking the oath of office before the UN General Assembly. "I assure you I will lead you by example." Ban has also pledged to restore trust between his UN secretariat and the 192 member states, which have been at odds through much of the reform process on issues including the creation of a new Human Rights Council and the separation of powers between the Security Council and the General Assembly. "There has been much criticism over the UN's inability and inefficiencies over the past few years, though the UN has played an instrumental role" in promoting peace around the world, Ban said. "One of my core tasks will be to breath new life and new confidence into the sometimes weary secretariat." A reform issue that members have long been stuck on is the expansion of the UN Security Council from its current 15 members, which Ban called "by far the most important and sensitive issue considering the dramatic changes in international politics." Annan of Ghana, the first African to lead the organization, leaves after 44 years at the UN. Like most secretary generals, he held two five-year terms, including Annan. Ban, 62, had spent 35 years serving the South Korean government, rising through the ranks of the foreign ministry and becoming foreign minister in January 2004, which he remained until his appointment to the UN leadership post. With the dispute over North Korea's nuclear ambitions still needing to be resolved, Ban has the potential to emerge as a bridge that could pave the way for an easing of relations between the north and his native south. Ban has already been engaged in inter-Korean dialogue on the divided peninsula, as South Korea continued to pursue a so-called "sunshine policy" over the last few years, seeking closer ties with its northern neighbour. Ban has called for a peaceful Korean peninsula that could play a role in expanding peace and prosperity in the region and around the world. Ban began his diplomatic career in New Delhi. He has also served at his country's US embassy in Washington and was director general of American affairs at the foreign ministry in Seoul from 1990 to 1992. In 1995, he became deputy minister for policy planning and then national security advisor to the South Korean president in 1996. The South Korean government in its official biography says Ban began nurturing his longstanding ties with the United Nations all the way back in 1975, during his days as a staff member of the UN division at the foreign ministry in Seoul. He took part in negotiations of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization in 1999 as Seoul's ambassador in Vienna. Ban received his bachelor's degree in international relations from Seoul National University in 1970, and earned a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. Ban is married to Madam Yoo Soon-taek, whom he first met at high school in 1962 and who has been his closest partner throughout his many career turns. They have one son and two daughters.