VARIOUS: The United Nations ratifies South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon as Secretary-General, wrap

The United Nations General Assembly appointed South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon by acclamation on Friday (October 13) as the next U.N. secretary-general, a post he will assume on January 1, 2007. Ban, 62, is the first Asian leader since Burma's U Thant led the U.N. from 1961 to 1971. Asian nations had insisted it was their turn for the job to succeed Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian who has led the world body for the past decade. The approval of Ban as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations since 1946 was welcomed by applause from diplomats and hundreds of U.N. staff. "I stand before you, deeply touched and inspired by the generous words of congratulations and encouragement. With boundless gratitude for the confidence praised in me my member states, and with an unswerving resolve to honour their trust. I humbly accept the appointment as the eighth Secretary-General of this great organisation, our United Nations," Ban told the Assembly. He has said he is committed to reforming the U.N., meeting U.N. Millennium Development Goals, expanding peace operations and dealing with threats posed by terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, HIV/AIDS and other pandemics, as well as human rights. The 15-member U.N. Security Council recommended Ban to the General Assembly after he comfortably beat six rivals in informal council polls. The General Assembly formally appointed him for a five-year term. The low-key Ban will be a contrast to Annan, who in his first five years as Secretary-General won a Nobel Peace Prize and was sometimes dubbed a diplomatic rock star, before financial scandals took over headlines in the past few years. Annan said that he had full confidence in Ban's abilities. "I think everyone here recognises the depth of your experience, the breadth of your connections, and your ability to cooperate effectively at the highest levels. But as someone who has known and worked with you for several years, I think they will soon discover something else, something more, if they do not see it already. A future Secretary-General who is exceptionally attuned to the sensitivities of countries and constituencies on every continent. A man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world's only universal organisation," Annan said as Ban listened beside him. Ban will inherit a bureaucracy of 9,000 staff, a $5 billion budget and more than 90,000 peacekeepers in 18 operations around the globe that cost another $5 billion. At a news conference, Ban touched upon several key issues such as North Korea, the Middle East crisis and the ongoing reform in the world body. He also spoke on behalf of his country, saying that since the nuclear test by North Korea last Monday (October 9), South Korea has been clear that the issue should be dealt with swiftly and strongly. In an interview following his appointment, Ban cautioned those who call him low key not to take him for a pushover. "I may look low key or soft spoken but that does not mean that I lack leadership or commitment," Ban told Reuters in his first formal interview. In Seoul, South Koreans said they were proud to hear their foreign minister was appointed to the job. "As a South Korean, I am very happy about the fact that he has become a leader of such an organisation," said 52-year-old Lee Suk-joon. "I hope that he will mature and develop into a good U.N. Secretary General," said 78-year-old Matthew Kim. Ban, who became foreign minister in January 2004, has played a critical role in negotiations with North Korea in the framework of six-party talks that are now stalled. A career diplomat who graduated top of his class in international relations from Seoul National University, he has served three times at his country's U.N. mission in New York. Only the second Asian to head the United Nations, Ban will take over on Jan. 1 but said he wanted to start work on the transition as soon as possible.

ITN Source | October 14, 2006

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