In 1962, Ban Ki-Moon came to the White House and met President John F. Kennedy. Then, Ban was the 18 year-old winner of an English-language speech contest from rural South Korea. Today he is on the threshold of becoming the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations.
Ban says the visit to the White House inspired him to become a diplomat, and he pursued that training and career with vigor. He graduated from South Korea's Seoul National University Department of International Relations in 1970 and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. His 35 years of government and international service include time as South Korea's Foreign Minister and ambassador to the United States.
Ban's rise to the post of secretary-general comes following some surprising transparency in the effort to name a successor to Kofi Annan. Annan's second and final term in the office expires on December 31, 2006.
The process is normally shrouded in secrecy. This time around, however, a little sunlight crept into the backroom dealing. The Security Council decided that all candidates for the job must be publicly nominated by a member country. And council members took "straw polls" where they could vote to "encourage" or "discourage" as many of the official candidates as they like. These polls were intended to preview the council's thinking, highlight consensus where it exists, and send a signal to candidates with little chance of winning.
Tony Fleming at UNSG.org has complete coverage of the process and the candidates it produced.
Ban Ki Moon's nomination from the Security Council now goes to the full UN General Assembly for final approval.
More:
Moon's official bio, from the United Nations
Restoring the Vitality of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon speech to the Council on Foreign Relations (May 31, 2006)
Tar and Feathering the New Secretary-General, from Mark Goldberg at U.N. Dispatch
Will the UN Pick Another Crook?, from the New English Review
