Issue 153

Political profiles: Ban Ki Moon

26th February 2007

Born on 13 June 1944, Ban Ki Moon, recently elected to be the eighth secretary general of the United Nations, is a relatively unknown figure in the western world.

In his inaugural address of 14 December 2006, Mr Ban stated that his main aims will be "to breathe new life and inject renewed confidence" into the secretariat, and to strengthen "the three pillars of the United Nations -- security, development and human rights."

Before his election to the post of Secretary General of the UN, Ban Ki Moon had been responsible for a variety of important areas within the South Korean government, such as Foreign Policy advisor, Chief National Security Advisor, and Director General of American Affairs, along with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Throughought his career, Ban Ki Moon's vision has been for a peaceful Korean peninsula, and has played a crucial role in peace and prosperity in the Far East and the wider world.

Ban Ki Moon has had long standing ties with the United Nations; from 1975 he worked for the United Nations Foreign Ministry division, then the First Secretary of the Republic of Korea's permanent mission to the UN in New York, and as director of the UN division in Seoul. In 1999 he was the Secretary of Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation.

In his years running up to his election of UN Secretary General, Mr Ban has spearheaded a number of important changes in the way the UN assembly functions, and has played a leading role in promoting peace in the Korean Peninsula, helping to resolve the nuclear issue in North Korea.

He married in 1962 to his high school sweetheart and has one son and two daughters.

Chris Hodges