Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea, the eighth Secretary-General of
the United Nations, brings to his post 37 years of service both in
government and on the global stage.
Career highlights
At the time of his election as Secretary-General, Mr. Ban was his
country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His long tenure with the
ministry included postings in New Delhi, Washington D.C. and Vienna, and
responsibility for a variety of portfolios, including Foreign Policy
Advisor to the President, Chief National Security Advisor to the
President, Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and Director-General of
American Affairs. Throughout this service, his guiding vision was that of
a peaceful Korean peninsula, playing an expanding role for peace and
prosperity in the region and the wider world.
Mr. Ban has longstanding ties with the United Nations, dating back to
1975, when he worked for the Foreign Ministry’s United Nations division.
That work expanded over the years, with assignments as First Secretary at
the ROK’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, Director of the UN
Division at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul, and Ambassador to
Vienna, during which time, in 1999, he served as Chairman of the
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Organization. In 2001-2002, as Chef-de-Cabinet during the ROK’s Presidency
of the General Assembly, he facilitated the prompt adoption of the first
resolution of the session, condemning the terrorist attacks of 11
September, and undertook a number of initiatives aimed at strengthening
the Assembly’s functioning, thereby helping to turn a session that started
out in crisis and confusion into one in which a number of important
reforms were adopted.
Mr. Ban has also been actively involved in issues relating to
inter-Korean relations. In 1992, as Special Advisor to the Foreign
Minister, he served as Vice Chair of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control
Commission following the adoption of the historic Joint Declaration on the
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In September 2005, as Foreign
Minister, he played a leading role in bringing about another landmark
agreement aimed at promoting peace and stability on the Korean peninsula
with the adoption at the Six Party Talks of the Joint Statement on
resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.
Education
Mr. Ban received a bachelor's degree in international relations from
Seoul National University in 1970. In1985, he earned a master's degree in
public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University.
Prizes and awards
Mr. Ban has received numerous national and international prizes, medals
and honours. In 1975, 1986 and again in 2006, he was awarded the ROK’s
Highest Order of Service Merit for service to his country.
Personal
Mr. Ban was born on 13 June 1944. He and his wife, Madam Yoo (Ban)
Soon-taek, whom he met in high school in 1962, have one son and two
daughters. In addition to Korean, Mr. Ban speaks English and French.
Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea, the eighth Secretary-General of
the United Nations, brings to his post 37 years of service both in
government and on the global stage. 
