SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to run for post of United Nations Secretary-General
Record ID:
566444
SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to run for post of United Nations Secretary-General
- Title: SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to run for post of United Nations Secretary-General
- Date: 14th February 2006
- Summary: (ASIA) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (FEBRUARY 14, 2006) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER BAN KI-MOON ENTERING CONFERENCE ROOM SIDE VIEW OF BAN KI-MOON STANDING AT PODIUM FOR NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 1st March 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Reuters ID: LVACKDXCWKYV5BCPCS2W0KNBZ1QP
- Story Text: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday (February 14) he will run as a candidate for the post of United Nations secretary-general, becoming one of the few declared candidates to succeed Kofi Annan.
Annan's second five-year term ends on December 31 and U.N tradition calls for a rotation of the post to a certain region, which most countries recognise would be Asia this time.
The United States has said the best person for the job should be selected without regard to region.
Ban, a career diplomat who is 61 years old, has been South Korea's foreign minister since January 2004. He has served as South Korea's ambassador to the United Nations and his first overseas posting was in New Delhi in 1972.
"Our government nominated me as a candidate for the position of secretary-general of the United Nations for further contribution to the development of the U.N. and the international community. And I accepted it in a humble way," Ban told a news conference on Tuesday.
Ban has been one of the key players in six-country talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes.
He has helped to try to coordinate policy to make sure that South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are on the same page in their discussions with North Korea.
He added if he is successful in his bid, he would give focus during his tenure to the North Korean nuclear issue.
"If elected as secretary-general of the U.N., I think I would play a positive role for the peaceful and early solution of North Korea's nuclear problem," he said.
Two Asian contenders have already declared their bids for the top U.N. post -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lankan peace negotiator Jayantha Dhanapala.
Among the other likely candidates are East Timor Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Ramos-Horta, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.
Analysts said it is likely the next secretary general may not even be among the current named and possible candidates, given the U.N.'s history of last-minute compromises in filling the post.
Ban has been busy in the past few weeks meeting various foreign ministers, government officials and global leaders at events hosted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, NATO and the World Economic Forum.
Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in the Washington Post on February 3 that Annan's replacement was almost certain to come from Asia.
The last Asian secretary-general was U Thant of Burma, which is now called Myanmar. He served from 1961-1971.
China, which has the power to veto any potential applicant along with the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, will not let the post go to someone outside of Asia, Holbrooke wrote in his opinion piece in the Washington Post.
The other permanent members of the Security Council -- France, Russia, Britain and the United States -- also have veto power. The United States has said it wants a reformer. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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