Mr. Ban Ki-Moon: The Eight UN Secretary-General
By Vince Sinning

On January 1, 2007, UN Secretary-General designate Mr. Ban Ki-Moon will become the eight Secretary-General of the United Nations – an organization with 192-Member States, nearly 100,000 peacekeepers in 18 countries, and a $5 billion annual budget.

On 10 November 2006, Mr. Ban bid farewell in the National Assembly and at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in South Korea. Serving as Foreign Minister for 34 months, he has had a distinguished 40-year career in diplomacy, and has served as the Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1999. He had served as Chef-de-Cabinet to the President of the General Assembly in 2001, and played a leading role during the six-nation talks intended to bring an end to North Korea’s nuclear program.

In his farewell speech, Mr. Ban expressed some regrets over the resolution of the North Korea nuclear crisis and the introduction of a multi-party security system in Northeast Asia. On the other hand, he emphasized his pride as a Korean and said that the honor of being elected U.N. Secretary-General should go to all the Korean people who love their fatherland.

On 15 November 2006, Mr. Ban will begin his transition work at the UN, and to shape the Secretariat to meet the challenges ahead. UN Member States expressed their confidence in Mr. Ban’s ability to steer the organization in its struggle to fulfill the terms of the reform agenda agreed by world leaders last fall (2005).

Mr. Ban’s appointment as Secretary-General came at a time when the UN was deeply engaged in a wide-ranging reform process. He vowed to work diligently to materialize the organization’s responsibility to protect the most vulnerable members of humanity, and for the peaceful resolution of threats to international security.

As Secretary-General, Mr. Ban’s immediate priorities are management reform, terrorism, peacekeeping issues, improving the Human Rights Council, and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Mr. Ban earnestly hopes that the young boys and girls of today will grow up knowing that the UN is working hard to build a better future for them.

IOSD and John Jay School of Diplomacy and International Affairs join the international community in wishing Mr. Ban all the best!

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Note About the Author

Vince Sinning served as an independent consultant and adviser to some of the Member States of the United Nations since 1999. He was an accredited  member of the delegation of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Nauru to the United Nations during the 57th, 58th, and 59th Sessions of the UNGA as its Senior Advisor for Economic and Political Affairs; and as Counsellor to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations during the 59th and 60th Session of the UNGA. Vince continues to serve as a Senior Advisor to Foreign Missions in Washington, DC and in New York.