UN/FILE: Former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is sworn in as 8th U.N. Secretary-General

Record ID: 565519

  • Title: UN/FILE: Former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is sworn in as 8th U.N. Secretary-General
  • Date: 15th December 2006
  • Summary: (BN13) UNITED NATIONS (DECEMBER 14, 2006) (AGENCY POOL) OUTGOING U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN ARRIVING AT THE U.N. ALONG WITH HIS WIFE NANE ANNAN INCOMING U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON ARRIVING AT THE U.N. ALONG WITH HIS WIFE YOO SOON-TAEK
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA7MG6GF99LQFQ2FBG3QRSJ8XFG
  • Story Text: South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the eighth U.N. secretary-general on Thursday (December 14), pledging to be a "bridge-builder" and lead a dynamic and courageous United Nations when he takes over on Jan. 1.
    Ban, 62, took the oath of office in a ceremony in the 192-nation U.N. General Assembly that also honored the outgoing secretary-general, Kofi Annan of Ghana, 68, whose second five-year term ends on Dec. 31.
    "By strengthening the three pillars of our United Nations -- security, development and human rights -- we can build a more peaceful, more prosperous and more just world for succeeding generations," Ban told ambassadors from U.N. member-states and other dignitaries.
    "As we pursue our collective endeavor to reach that goal, my first priority will be to restore trust. I will seek to act as a harmonizer and bridge-builder," Ban said, adding that world governments required a "dynamic and courageous" United Nations and not one that was "passive and fearful."
    Key tasks will include injecting new life into a "sometimes weary" secretariat staff and setting "the highest ethical standard." Annan's tenure was stained by findings of corruption and mismanagement in the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq and in U.N. procurement.
    Ban's wife, Yoo Soon-taek, sat next to Annan's wife, Nane, in the audience as Assembly President Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa administered the oath of office.
    In delivering the oath, Ban swore "not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organization."
    Special guests included Han Seung-soo, under whom Ban served as chief of staff when Han served as General Assembly president in 2001-2002.
    A former foreign minister, Ban was selected by the 15-member U.N. Security Council in October and then approved by the General Assembly as the first Asian head of the organization in 35 years.
    But little is known about Ban's policies or future appointments, particularly compared to his high-profile predecessor, who travelled widely and spoke out on world issues, sometimes to the chagrin of the United States.
    Quiet and unassuming, Ban has made few missteps during his long career as a Korean diplomat.
    John Bolton, the outgoing U.S. ambassador, an early Ban supporter, made clear he wanted more of a secretary than a general by saying repeatedly the U.N. Charter described the job only as the world body's "chief administrative officer."
    But in an interview with Reuters after his election, Ban cautioned those who called him low-key not to mistake him for a pushover. "I may look low-key or (be) soft-spoken but that does not mean that I lack leadership or commitment," he said.
    Asians consider modesty and humility virtues, he said, but should not be misunderstood because "I take decisive decisions whenever it is necessary."
    Ban will start his five-year term in what Annan has called the world's most impossible job with a daunting agenda that stretches from the threats of nuclear proliferation and terrorism to reform of the United Nations management.
    But the future secretary-general showed he could poke fun at himself at a U.N. correspondents dinner, acknowledging that journalists in Seoul called him "Slippery Eel" while in New York they referred to him as a "Teflon diplomat."
    "These names may reflect different cultures," Ban said in an earlier interview, "But they all point to one and the same thing: When I want to, I will elude you as masterfully as any secret agent."
    Borrowing from the Christmas carol "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," he crooned: "I'm making a list, I'm checking it twice, I'm going to find out who's naughty or nice. Ban Ki-Moon is coming to town."
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