Ban Ki-Moon is the Secretary-general of the United Nations Organization. He was first elected Secretary-General on 13 October 2006, and officially started on 2nd January, 2007, and unanimously elected for a second term on 21st June, 2011.
In his first year as Secretary General, he was thought of as the "invisible man" of the United Nations, because few people knew his name and he was often called Mr Moon. In Korea, a person's surname is first, and many people didn't understand why he was called Ban or Mr. Ban.
Little is known of Ban Ki-Moon's family, other than their original location, and the fact that his father lost his business at one time. Mr Ban recently visited his mother in Korea.
Born: 13 June 1944
Birthplace: Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
Mr Ban Ki-Moon on his first official day in office, 2nd January 2007 UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Father:
Mother: Shin Hyun-soon
Wife: Yoo Soon-taek
Children: three, one son, two daughters
High School: Chungju High School
Bachelor Degree: International Relations, from Seoul National University, 1970
Masters Degree: Public Administration, from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, 1985
After completing his batchelor's degree, Mr. Ban sat for the Korean foreign service exam, earning the top score, and he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He accepted a posting to New Delhi, as vice consul. In 1974, he became First Secretary of the South Korean Permanent Observer Mission. In 1979, after Korean President Park Chung-hee was assassinated, Mr. Ban became Director of the United Nations Division.
The following year, Ban Ki-Moon was appointed director of the United Nations International Organizations and Treaties Bureau, in Seoul.
Director-General for American Affairs 1990
Vice Chairman of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission, 1992
Deputy Ambassador to the United States, 1993
Deputy Minister for Policy Planning and International Organizations, 1995
National Security Advisor to the President, 1996
Ambassador to Austria, 1998
Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, 1999
Fired by President Kim Dae-jung, who issued a public apology for a misstatement on the US ABM Treaty
Chief of staff to general assembly president Han Seung-soo
Foreign policy advisor to Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, 2003
Foreign Minister of Korea, 2004
Secretary-General, United Nations Organization, 2007
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