Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary General

Date of Birth: 13/06/1944
Place of Birth: Eumseong

When South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon became UN Secretary General in January 2007, he pledged to reform UN management – and to make climate change and Sudan’s Darfur his top priorities. A former Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs and life-long civil servant, Ban brought with him years of diplomatic experience and a blunt heartiness common among Seoul’s diplomatic corps. His election was cheered by China, which had dealt with Ban often, particularly in the six-party talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament.

In contrast to his predecessors, on his first day in office, Ban offered a disclosure of his assets for public scrutiny. Those who said Ban’s tenure would signify less of a focus on Africa appear to have been mistaken: Ban appointed Tanzania’s ex-Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro as Deputy Secretary General and Africa still consumes more than 60% of the UN Security Council’s time. His first major achievement was winning UNSC backing and Sudan’s consent for a 26,000 UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, which at US$2.5 billion is the UN’s most expensive ever. Doubtless, Ban’s expertise in Asian diplomacy will serve him well on the world stage and in understanding his continent’s fast-developing relations with Africa.