Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary-General
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 DebebeFather:
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.
Surprisingly, Mr Ban Ki Moon says little or nothing about many of the things he should speak out about, including crimes against children.
