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South Koraen foreign minister named next U.N. leader

October 13 CNN

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) – The U.N. General Assembly has appointed South Korean
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to serve as the United Nations’ next secretary-general
from January 1.

Ban will succeed Kofi Annan when his five-year term expires at the end of this year.

Ban, 62, will be the world body’s eighth secretary general and the first from Asia
since U Thant of Burma (now Myanmar) served from 1961 to 1971.

“Mr. Ban, I am delighted that your election turned out this way – early and orderly,”
Ann said after the approval Friday.

The General Assembly adopted by acclamation the resolution appointing Ban.

“Surely that is the way we would wish all secretaries-general to be elected,”
Annan said.

“I would say that the process worked well because member states were determined
to achieve an early outcome, and because the winning candidate had exceptional
qualifications.”

Ban was one of seven candidates bidding to be the U.N. chief. He had topped all four
informal polls in the U.N. Security Council.

Hundreds of diplomats and U.N. staff members in the chamber broke into loud
applause when assembly president Sheikha Haya Rashed AL Khalifa asked the
192-nation world body to adopt the resolution by acclamation. She then banged the
gravel and said, “It is so decided,” The Associated Press reported.

Ban will oversee an organization with 92,000 peacekeepers around the world and a
$5 billion annual budget. The United Nation’s reputation has been tarnished by
corruption scandals, and its outdated practices need reform to meet the challenges
of the 21st century, AP reported.

The appointment of the South Korean official came less than a week after North Korea
said it had tested a nuclear weapon, heightening tensions in the region, AP reported.
The United States said Friday a preliminary finding showed evidence of radioactivity
where the apparent test was though to have been conducted.

The security council votes Saturday on whether to impose sanctions on North Korea,
according to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton.

Annan hailed Ban as “a future secretary-general who is exceptionally attuned to the
sensitivities of countries and constituencies in every continent,” and said he would
be “a man with a truly global mind at the helm of the world’s only universal
organization.”