Full Moon rising

Ban has been the South Korean trade minister since 2004. He is a career foreign service officer since 1970. He obtained MPA from Harvard University. He has acted as "chief-de-cabinet" to the 56th president of the General Assembly (a South Korean) and as a senior aide to South Korea's President Roh Mu-hyun.

Politics plays a part
It is noted that the selection of the secretary general of the UN is a political decision entirely, and not on merits of the candidates. A lot of regional and international politics are involved in his selection. One cannot get away from the fact that the UN is a political organisation and, therefore, the interests of the big five play a major role in the selection.

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Sometimes they compromise on the merits of the candidates for consensus, such as when Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru (1982-91) was selected when the two original candidates failed to get affirmative votes of the big five.

Egypt's Boutros-Boutros Ghali could not get secure re-election in 1996 because it is believed that he had annoyed the US for his independent mind, and did not toe the line of the US.

Kofi Annan, an official of the UN, was lucky because the US backed him strongly, although his record as the head of the UN peacekeeping operations was dismal. It was during his tenure that the Rwandan massacre occurred in 1994 when he had decided to reduce the number of the UN troops. Furthermore, an insider of the UN is normally not selected for the position.

Why did South Korea succeed?
Political observers believe that South Korea has an edge over others because it has been a close ally of the US and the West for decades, and it is the third largest coalition partner in Iraq. The US has a military base in that country.

Furthermore, it is reported in the publication Journal that the Jewish lobby in the US supported South Korea's candidate. David Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish Committee, reportedly confirmed that he had "several meetings" with prospective candidates and acknowledged: "There is a feeling that American Jewry would have some impact on the thinking of the United States."

France always approves a candidate who is fluent in the French language. Ban speaks both English and French fluently. China has developed good relations, partly because of its policy of peaceful engagement with the communist North Korea, (called "sunshine policy"). It is believed that Ban would be able to constructively engage North Korea because of his deep understanding of the issues involved in the Korean peninsula.

Furthermore, Russian relations with South Korea have been friendly, partly because of South Korea's somewhat strained relations with former ruler Japan and partly because it does not take a hard line view towards North Korea. South Korea is a rich country, and for the last 10 years it has seriously participated in the affairs of the UN and its agencies. Some of its candidates have been successful in gaining top positions in the UN affiliated agencies.

South Korea has been the 11th largest contributor to the UN budget, and had voted with the rich-world financiers led by the US, Japan, and the EU, that blocked, or delayed, some of the proposed management reforms put up by Kofi Annan in May.

Observers believe that all these above factors, among others, have helped South Korea's candidate to gain the support of the five members of the Security Council.

The other candidates from Asia, India's Shashi Kapoor, Sri Lanka's Jayantha Danapala, and Thailand's Surukiart Sathirathai failed to get the backing of the crucial veto-wielding five permanent members of the Security Council.

It is speculated in the media that China has reservation about India's nominee because China did not want any candidate from a "large country," coupled with the fact that he has been a high official of the UN closely aligned with Kofi Annan. That possibly went against him. The UN needs a new broom, not an old one, to sweep the debris of the UN clean. Thailand's candidate had no chance after the coup in his country, although he resigned from Thaksin's political party. Sri Lanka's candidate fell behind in the straw polls taken to gauge the acceptance by the 15-member Security Council of the UN. Moreover the image of Sri Lanka has been severely damaged by the on-going sectarian civil war.

Challenges
Ban's plate will be full. Eradication of poverty, terrorism by non-state actors, limiting nuclear proliferation or weapons of mass destruction, global climate change, resolution of inter-state conflicts, issues of failed states, and reforms within the UN are likely to engage his attention.

Observers suggest that it is desirable for Ban, as the head of the administration of the UN, to first undertake drastic reforms of the existing secretive and unaccountable culture of the UN Secretariat to become transparent, accountable, and responsible for all its actions to the member-states. Kofi Annan missed his chance to reform the UN bureaucracy.

It appears that nuclear proliferation is likely to be at the top of the agenda. While he has to deal with North Korea and Iran on nuclear proliferation, he has to satisfy the US which does not believe in bilateral dialogue either with North Korea or Iran. In one of his speeches he reportedly mentioned the differences between the motivations of Iranian and North Korean nuclear development. In this regard, he stated the obvious that dialogue was the basis to remove distrust and suspicion among the parties involved.

Ban faces an enormous task in maintaining peace and security in an increasingly divisive world. The parochial attitude of the permanent members needs to be abandoned. Preventive diplomacy and strengthening of the institutions of failed or weak states appear to be the future activities of the UN.

There is no magic for resolving issues that have been prolonged over decades, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Kashmir issue. Ban reportedly sees his role as one to reconcile harmoniously the different opinions of member states. We wish him all the success in his tenure.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.