MPA Lining Up for Kofi’s Job

With Kofi Annan’s term set to expire at the end of 2006, and the UN, by traditional rotation, looking to fill this position with an appointee from Asia, Kennedy School alumnus Ban Ki-moon has been presented by the Republic of Korea as a candidate for the next secretary-general of the United Nations. Ban MPA 1984, who declared his candidacy mid-February, carries 35 years of service both within the UN and in the government of South Korea, currently serving as foreign minister. He has been actively involved in six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs since 1992, when he became vice chair of the South-North Joint Nuclear Control Commission. This past September he spoke at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum about these talks, expressing his hope that this type of diplomacy has not only helped limit North Korea’s nuclear arms program, but has also institutionalized communication and helped build trust in the region.