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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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 Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject: South Korean Favored to Win Top Job at U.N. |
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South Korean Favored to Win Top Job at U.N.
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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 � Ban Ki-moon, the South Korean foreign minister, moved significantly closer on Thursday to becoming the successor to Kofi Annan as United Nations secretary general by maintaining a wide lead over six other candidates in the Security Council�s third informal poll.
A fourth and more definitive informal poll is scheduled for Monday, and Mr. Ban, with 13 favorable votes from the 15 Council members, goes into that poll as the only candidate with the 9 votes required for approval.
On Monday, the ballots of the five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, will be colored different than the others, a way of determining whether any nation with veto power has exercised it. Barring a veto, Mr. Ban�s election in a subsequent formal vote appears assured.
�I am encouraged by the level of support I received, and I hope that eventually I will have unanimous support,� Mr. Ban said in a telephone interview from Seoul on Thursday after his return from New York.
Mr. Ban, 62, has traveled widely as he has campaigned for the secretary general position over the past six months, and questions have arisen about how effective his modest and soft-spoken style would be in bringing discipline and coherence to such a sprawling and rivalry-ridden organization as the United Nations.
�I now realize that some people regard me as a person with a soft leadership,� he said. �But I have been telling them that while I may look soft and have a sense of humility and speak in a restrained manner, this should not be regarded as a lack of determination or commitment.�
�Some people have a different aspect,� he said. �They speak loud and have a more flamboyant attitude. But I think I have my own charisma.�
Mr. Ban has a master�s degree from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, was assigned twice to the South Korean Embassy in Washington and is a former director general of American affairs for South Korea�s Foreign Ministry.
He has the firm backing of the Bush administration and is known as an ally of Washington. If he gets the job, that part of his political makeup will be closely monitored at the United Nations, where tensions between the United States and the developing world have been on the rise.
�I have many friends in the United States, and I think this can be a great asset for me instead of a point of concern for others,� he said. �The countries in the third world, in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America, they know that I am their close friend, too.�
Mr. Annan steps down Dec. 31 after two five-year terms. Under United Nations procedures for choosing a secretary general, the Security Council selects one name and sends it to the 192-member General Assembly for ratification.
Six of the seven candidates are Asian, in keeping with the unwritten but accepted notion at the United Nations that this year it is Asia�s turn to occupy the top job. The last Asian secretary general was U Thant of Burma, who left office in 1971.
In the informal polls, the 15 members of the Council have been asked to mark one of three boxes � �encourage,� �discourage� or �no opinion� � after each candidate�s name.
Mr. Ban�s latest total actually decreased by a vote compared with the tally from the previous secret poll on Sept. 14, because one positive shifted to no opinion. But his lead widened over his closest challenger, Shashi Tharoor, 50, the under secretary general for public information, who saw his support diminish to 8 favorable votes from 10.
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, 68, the president of Latvia, a new entry and the only woman under consideration, polled seven favorable votes. The other new candidate, Ashraf Ghani, 57, a former finance minister of Afghanistan and the current chancellor of Kabul University, managed to attract only three.
Surakiart Sathirathai, 47, deputy prime minister of Thailand, saw his positives fall to five from nine. Both Prince Zeid Raad Zeid al-Hussein, 42, Jordan�s ambassador to the United Nations, and Jayantha Dhanapala, 67, of Sri Lanka, a former under secretary general for disarmament, drew only three positive votes.
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mateomiguel
Joined: 16 May 2005
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| i heard that this is the preliminary meaningless straw poll of UN delgates, and whoever wins this preliminary round is pretty much assured to become a nonfactor in the next round. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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The fact is that the INTERNET is making people RICH!
Shouldn't YOU be one of them? Click here: FIND OUT NOW!
I've given the matter a good deal of thought, and I feel that Ban is the best man for the job. He's the only candidate whose name I know I can pronounce correctly.
Kruschev once proposed doing away with the UN Sec-Gen position.
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| We consider it reasonable and just for the executive organ of the United Nations to consist not of a single person -- the Secretary-General -- but of three persons invested with the highest trust of the United Nations, persons representing the States belonging to the three basic groups I have mentioned. The point at issue is not the title of the organ but that this executive organ should represent the States belonging to the military block of the Western Powers, the socialist States and the neutralist States... |
Perhaps we might take another look at this idea, though with the troika being Ban and two representatives from countries with the balls to say boo to a goose-stepping NK. |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:52 pm Post subject: |
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Kofi Annan was a man for the media.
Mr. Ban just looks like someone's assistant.
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Mr. Ban has a master�s degree from... Harvard, was assigned twice to the South Korean Embassy in Washington and is a former director general of American affairs for South Korea�s Foreign Ministry.
He has the firm backing of the Bush administration and is known as an ally of Washington. If he gets the job, that part of his political makeup will be closely monitored at the United Nations, where tensions between the United States and the developing world have been on the rise.
�I have many friends in the United States, and I think this can be a great asset for me instead of a point of concern for others,� he said. |
Assistant to Bush, yeah.
He wouldn't last a year even if he is miraculously voted in. A lackey is not needed at this time.
On a lighter note... I can see the headlines now:
U.N. Forces replace American troops on the Korean peninsula.
Bush gets U.N. support for war in Iran
U.N. secretary general "impeached" |
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mateomiguel
Joined: 16 May 2005
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:21 pm Post subject: |
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when is the U.N. Secretary-General anything else besides a bureaucrat, or a lackey?
Say we have a strong U.N. Sec-Gen with a plan and no political affiliations. What's he going to do, issue more Resolutions than any two leaders before him? Strong leaders are attracted to strong positions, and this isn't one of them. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
He wouldn't last a year even if he is miraculously voted in. A lackey is not needed at this time.
On a lighter note... I can see the headlines now:
U.N. Forces replace American troops on the Korean peninsula.
Bush gets U.N. support for war in Iran
U.N. secretary general "impeached" |
Yeah, w in the f? There's more than two countries in the UN. |
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kat2
Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Location: Busan, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I just hope that he doesn't have a lot of the bad habits of the higher ups in Korea. Corruption is so rampant among government officials and businessmen. That is the last thing the UN needs after the Oil for Food crisis under Annan. |
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RACETRAITOR
Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah, someone who sucks up to the corruption-free American government. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 11:20 pm Post subject: |
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If he gets in we are sure to see more international news coverage here than we have been used to seeing.
I think I saw him speak a few years ago on Arirang. If it was him, he was a well-spoken man. I was impressed. The trouble is, I may have his name mixed up with someone else. His face doesn't look like the guy I remember. |
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billybrobby
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:54 am Post subject: |
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| mateomiguel wrote: |
| i heard that this is the preliminary meaningless straw poll of UN delgates, and whoever wins this preliminary round is pretty much assured to become a nonfactor in the next round. |
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| On Monday, the ballots of the five permanent members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, will be colored different than the others, a way of determining whether any nation with veto power has exercised it. Barring a veto, Mr. Ban�s election in a subsequent formal vote appears assured. |
it's a bit galling when somebody posts on a thread without having read the article...except that i've done it a million times too. |
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jaebea
Joined: 21 Sep 2003
Location: SYD
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:51 am Post subject: |
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Seems pretty reasonable. I don't see any of the permanent members having a real problem with a South Korean SG in lieu of the current political climate.
France and Germany couldn't give a toss either way, which leaves China, Russia and the US who have more-than-passing interest in the nominee. All appear to be favourable/neutral from those three.
At least you'll be the first to answer the trivia question down at the pub:
"Who is the new SG of the UN? For a bonus point, what country does he come from?"
Cos no-one else could give a rodent's derriere.
jae. |
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flotsam
Joined: 28 Mar 2006
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:01 am Post subject: |
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My opinion: meh.
I do feel sorry for the lot of you over there...wait, reverse that: I bet you it gets no freaking coverage over there at all. With as insular as the average Kim Saram is, I bet that half the population never even realizes what went down.
Until he gets impeached, that is.
I'm rooting for the chick, myself. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:17 am Post subject: |
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| flotsam wrote: |
My opinion: meh.
I do feel sorry for the lot of you over there...wait, reverse that: I bet you it gets no freaking coverage over there at all. With as insular as the average Kim Saram is, I bet that half the population never even realizes what went down. |
I would imagine the average Kim Saram will know, but it should have no more impact on his day-to-day life (as opposed to his "dokto love" cyber/media-fed life) than Kofi Annan's tenure had on the average Ghanaian's life. Keyword: should. |
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djsmnc
Joined: 20 Jan 2003
Location: Dave's ESL Cafe
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:17 am Post subject: |
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| Takeshima will become Dokdo |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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| djsmnc wrote: |
| Takeshima will become Dokdo |
Well, that would involve a public process beyond the scope of the secretary general. But I get your point.
Needing only behind-the-scenes action:
Japan will NOT get the Security Council position and veto power it is seeking. |
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