New York: Ban Ki-moon of South Korea will be on Thursday sworn in as the eighth secretary general of the UN, and is set to succeed Kofi Annan on New Year's Day in a post considered one of the toughest in the world.
Ban, who began his diplomatic career in New Delhi, will take the oath of office in a ceremony in the 192-nation UN General Assembly, which elected him on October 13 in the most transparent election in UN history.
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 to be resolved, Ban has the potential to emerge as a bridge that could pave the way for easing of relations between the north and his native south.
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.
Comments
0 comment