Ban Ki-moon Bio | Wiki
Ban Ki-moon is a popular South Korean politician and diplomat who worked as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. He was elected as Chairman of the IOC Ethics Committee in September 2017. Currently, Ban is the Distinguished Chair Professor and Honorary Chairman at the Institute of Global Engagement & Empowerment at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Before his appointment as secretary-general, Ban worked as the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2004 and 2006.
He was formerly considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; Ban started to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, Ban was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that finally turned him into the campaign’s front-runner. On October 13, 2006, Ban was elected as the eighth secretary-general by the United Nations General Assembly. On 1 January 2007, Ban replaced Kofi Annan. As secretary-general, Ban was responsible for many major reforms on peacekeeping and UN employment practices around the world.
He was named the globe’s 32nd most powerful person by the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People in 2013, the highest among South Koreans. In 2014, Ban was named the third most powerful South Korean after Lee Kun-hee and Lee Jae-yong. In 2016, Foreign Policy named him one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers for his achievement of helping the Paris Agreement to be ratified and enforced less than a year after it was adopted.
Ban Ki-moon Age
Ban was born on June 13, 1944, in Insei, Chusei Hoku, Korea, (now Eumseong County, South Korea). He is 79 years old. Ban celebrates his birthday on June 13, every year.
Ban Ki-moon Height
He is a man of above-average stature. Ban stands at a height of 5 ft 10 in ( Approx. 1. 75m ).
Ban Ki-moon Family
He was born in the small farming village of Haengchi, Wonnam Township (-myeon), in Eumseong County (insei), North Chungcheong Province in what was then Japanese Korea. Ban’s family then went to the nearby town of Chungju, where he grew up. During his childhood, his dad had a warehouse business, but the warehouse went bankrupt and the family lost its middle-class standard of living. When he was six, his family moved to a remote mountainside for much of the Korean War. After the war ended, Ban’s family returned to Chungju. He has said that, during this time, he met American soldiers. He has four siblings, Ban Ki-sang, Ban Gyeong-hee, Ban Jeong-ran, and Ban Ki-ho.
Ban Ki-moon Wife
Ban is married to his wife Yoo Soon-taek. The two met in 1962 and married in 1971. Ban and Yoo have three adult children: two daughters Seon-yong and Hyun-hee and a son Woo-hyun. Ban’s son Woo-hyun was born in 1974 in India.
Ban Ki-moon Daughter
He has two daughters Seon-yong and Hyun-hee. Ban’s elder daughter, Seon-yong, was born in 1972 and currently works for the Korea Foundation in Seoul. Seon’s spouse is a native of India. His other daughter, Hyun-hee (born 1976), works as a field officer for UNICEF in Nairobi.
Ban Ki-moon Education
He attended his secondary school education at Chungju High School where Ban became a star student, particularly in his studies of the English language. In 1962, he won an essay contest sponsored by the Red Cross and received a trip to the United States where he resided in San Francisco with a host family for several months. As part of the trip, he met U.S. President John F. Kennedy. When a journalist at the meeting asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, Ban said, “I want to become a diplomat.”
He graduated from Seoul National University in 1970 earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations. Ban later earned a Master of Public Administration degree at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1985. At Harvard, Ban studied under Joseph Nye, who remarked that Ban had “a rare combination of analytic clarity, humility and perseverance”.
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
In February 2006, he declared his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General at the end of 2006, becoming the first South Korean to run for the office. Though he was the first to announce a candidacy, Ban was not originally considered a serious contender. On October 9, the Security Council formally chose him as its nominee. In the public vote, Ban was supported by all 15 members of the council. On October 13, the 192-member General Assembly acclaimed him as secretary-general.
On January 23, 2007, he took office as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His term as Secretary-General opened with a flap. At his first encounter with the press as Secretary-General on 2 January 2007, Ban refused to condemn the death penalty imposed on Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi High Tribunal, stating, “The issue of capital punishment is for each and every member State to decide”.
On June 6, 2011, he formally announced his candidacy for a second consecutive term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. Ban reported his candidacy at a press conference, after a meeting with the Asian group of countries at the United Nations. His first mandate as the Secretary-General was set to end on December 31, 2011. The five permanent Security Council members supported Ban’s candidacy. On June 17, 2011, Ban received the recommendation of the Security Council by a unanimous vote, and, on June 21, his nomination was confirmed by a unanimous acclamation vote at the United Nations General Assembly. Ban’s new five-year term as Secretary-General began on January 1, 2012 and ended on December 31,2016. He returned to South Korea on January 31, 2017. On February 1, 2017, Ban reported he would not be a candidate for president.
Ban Ki-moon Foundation
The Ban Ki-moon Foundation was founded in 2022 in New York City, with the goal of mobilizing stakeholders across sectors in the U.S. and the Americas to advance progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. The Foundation is the DBA name of the Foundation for the Ban Ki-moon Centre.
Ban Ki-moon Centre For Global Citizens
In 2017, he and Heinz Fischer, the retired president of Austria, created, and are co-chairs of, the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in Vienna, Austria. The nonprofit group’s aim is to support youth and women, serving within the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal frameworks. The BKMC’s further mission is to empower women, youth, and leaders across borders to bring change.
Ban Ki-moon Quote
“We hold the future in our hands, together, we must ensure that our grandchildren will not have to ask why we failed to do the right thing, and let them suffer the consequences.”.
Ban Ki-moon Net Worth
Ban gets is wealth from his work as the Distinguished Chair Professor and Honorary Chairman at the Institute of Global Engagement & Empowerment at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. Therefore, Ban has accumulated a decent fortune over the years. Ban’s net worth is $1.5 million.
How Old Is Ban Ki-moon
Ban is a 79-year-old who was born on June 13, 1944, in Insei, Chusei Hoku, Korea, (now Eumseong County, South Korea). Ban celebrates his birthday on June 13, every year.
How Tall Is Ban Ki-moon
Ban is a man of above-average stature who stands at a height of 5 ft 10 in ( Approx. 1. 75m ).