UN: Diplomats are wondering if the consensus-building new secretary general can reform the UN, write Maggie Farley and Bruce Wallace
When Ban Ki-moon was in secondary school in South Korea in 1962, he won a speech contest and was invited to the White House to meet President Kennedy. When a journalist there asked him what he wanted to do, he said: "I want to become a diplomat."
Ban (62), South Korea's foreign minister, did not tell the story during his eight-month campaign to become the next UN secretary- general until last week, when it was clear he had clinched the spot.
His reticence may come in part from a cultural reluctance to draw attention to himself, as well as a strategy not to appear too close to the US, but it also provides an insight into the character of the quietly ambitious official who has emerged to be nominated as the UN chief after years of connection-building and months of campaigning.
He describes himself as a "harmoniser" and consensus- builder, even if that means being deliberately bland and decidedly cautious. "He's not a guy who gets drunk at parties, I haven't seen him shoot a hole-in-one at the golf course, I haven't heard him sing karaoke," said Donald Gregg, president of the Korea Society and a former US ambassador to South Korea.
"He doesn't have a lot of charisma. He compensates for that with competence."
Still, diplomats at the United Nations are wondering: is Ban a leader and will he - can he - change the UN?
When he moves into his new wood-panelled office on the UN's 38th floor on January 1st, he will inherit a sprawling bureaucracy of 9,000 workers, a $5 billion budget, with aid agencies and 18 peacekeeping operations spanning the globe.
Although the world body plays a central role in quelling conflicts, preventing disease and aiding development, it is also beset by poor management, damage from scandals and divisions that make progress on some issues difficult.
"It may be an impossible and thankless job, but someone has got to do it," he said.
Many are surprised it is Ban, indisputably statesman-like but one of least colourful candidates.
The selection process demands that the candidate has international stature, yet will not offend or challenge any of the Security Council powers. Ban, so far, has displeased no one.
His foreign ministry colleagues nicknamed him "the bureaucrat". The press corps there calls him "the slippery eel" for his ability to wriggle out of answering almost every question.
His priority as the head of the world body, he says, is to reform it. "The UN suffers from a chronic weakness: its inability to set priorities and make choices. The UN needs to promise less and deliver more."
He would not say what kind of cuts he had in mind or how he might deal with nations that are blocking reforms outlined by current secretary-general Kofi Annan, except that all parties should be more willing to compromise.
"I think the secretary-general should really be a harmoniser, to try to demonstrate leadership by example," Ban says. "I think I can co-ordinate and reconcile all the divisive opinions among the member states. But at the same time, the member states should also be prepared to demonstrate maximum flexibility."
The Bush administration made clear early in the selection process they wanted a secretary- general who would act like the chief administration officer that the UN charter called for, not a diplomatic "rock star", as Annan was dubbed.
But a charismatic leader humanises the institution, says John Ruggie, a former assistant secretary-general to Annan, now at Harvard's Kennedy School for Public Policy.
"When Kofi was in his 'rock star' phase, he did a lot to attract interest in the UN and part of the campaign against him was in fact driven by his popularity and his ability to reach out to the public," he says. "I don't think Ban Ki- moon will have that problem, but that may work to his advantage."
Ban has not left a deep footprint at home in South Korea, either. In a country where politics is polarised and frequently raucous, observers say he is not part of President Roh Moo-Hyun's inner circle and has largely escaped censure from conservatives critical of the left-wing Roh's foreign policy.
Ban became foreign minister in 2004 after his predecessor, Yoon Young Kwan, clashed with Roh over South Korea's US policy. Ban was seen as the safe replacement who could bring calm and professionalism to a ministry in upheaval.
"People always saw him as a workaholic, industrious, very devoted diplomat," says Yoon, "and he has been very effective at reforming the ministry."
Yoon says his friend has been considering a run at the secretary-general's office since his posting to the UN in 2001. The move to New York revived his career, friends say, and he began cultivating allies for a run at the top job, slated to go to an Asian candidate.
Ban, who raised his profile during talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, emerged as the consensus figure in the race to replace Annan.
He made ministerial visits to the country of every Security Council member between February and September, discreetly seeking support for his bid. China did not object to him and Ban was well-known and liked in Washington, as he pushed for sending South Korean troops to Iraq, a highly unpopular decision at home.
His support from the Bush administration has made some wary that he will not be able to stand up to Washington.
In several speeches, audiences bristled when he declared that "the US is the most important member state of the UN". But the other part of his message, he said, was that the US should value the world body more.
"The UN stands for what the US is also seeking: democracy, market economies, peace and stability, prosperity and development," he said.
Ban's non-confrontational strategy for North Korea is at odds with the Bush administration's approach. If he is beholden to Washington, he is equally obliged to Beijing and will have to balance pressures between the two Security Council members.
Still, it is clear that Ban's "make no enemies" persona that probably won him the job is not an act. "He is always smiling and never says no," says Yoon, "but that does not mean he has no principles of his own . . . and I'm hopeful that as secretary-general he will be a different man and his true character will be revealed."