cceptable," and he expressed concern about the regional and global implications of Tehran's nuclear program.

Ban also said he planned to become "directly engaged" in efforts to bring peace to Sudan's Darfur region, adding his first trip may be to an African Union summit in late January. The AU provides the peacekeeping force in Darfur which has been unable to quell nearly four years of violence that has left more than 200,000 people dead and created a massive humanitarian crisis.

"The suffering of the people of Darfur is simply unacceptable, and despite intensive efforts, the security situation appears to be deteriorating over recent days," he said.

Calling himself "a harmonizer and bridge-builder," Ban said his first priority when he takes the reins of the U.N. on Jan. 1 will be "to restore trust," in the organization. The United Nations has been criticized for corruption and mismanagement. He also pledged to try to rebuild trust among member states who have been deeply divided over U.N. reforms.

The ceremony in the General Assembly chamber first paid tribute to Kofi Annan, who steps down as the U.N. chief on Dec. 31 after 10 years.

The 192-member assembly approved a resolution by acclamation lauding Annan's "many bold initiatives" to reduce poverty, promote peace, protect the environment and launch the U.N. reform process. The assembly then gave him a standing ovation.

Ban stood with his right hand raised and his left hand on the U.N. Charter - a special request he made - as he took the oath administered by General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa.

He swore to conduct himself solely in the interests of the United Nations, and refuse to accept instructions from any government or other authority.

The 62-year-old career diplomat will be the first Asian to lead the United Nations in 35 years. It is also a milestone for South Korea, which only joined the United Nations in 1991 and still has U.N. troops on the tense border with North Korea.

Ban defeated six other candidates vying to be the U.N. chief and won final approval from the General Assembly in October.

On Thursday, he said he would prefer a woman for deputy secretary-general and was looking at several names, which he did not disclose.

Ban will oversee an organization with some 92,000 peacekeepers around the world and a $5 billion annual budget. The U.N.'s reputation has been battered by scandals in the Iraq oil-for-food program and in peacekeeping procurement. Its outdated practices need reform to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

In a brief address after being sworn in, Ban pledged "to set the highest ethical standard" and "work to enhance morale, professionalism and accountability among staff members, which in turn will help us serve member states better, and restore trust in the organization."

"The good name of the United Nations is one of its most valuable assets - but also one of its most vulnerable," Ban said.

Speaking to reporters, Ban singled out Middle East peace as a priority and said he will try "to energize" an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan drafted by the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers - the United Nations, the European Union, Russia and the U.S.

He also expressed concern about the deteriorating situations in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as conflicts in Africa.

As South Korea's foreign minister, Ban was deeply involved in the six-nation effort to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. He said he will be watching the talks, which resume Dec. 18 in Beijing, and think about initiatives he can take as secretary-general.

Ban distanced himself from Annan's farewell address on Monday in which the secretary-general criticized the Bush administration's global leadership. Annan called on America not to sacrifice its democratic ideals while waging war and to work with other countries.

"That I think, was his own personal assessment and insight, which he gained during his tenure," Ban said.

He stressed that the U.S. was an important U.N. member and it was important to resolve differences of opinion between Washington and the world body.

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Ban Ki-moon Poised To Be The NExt Secretary General

Ban Ki-moon poised to be the next Secretary General

CBC News Online | October 13, 2006

Ban Ki-moon, the man who will be the next United Nations secretary general, is set to inherit

an organization that's been termed a "symbolic power" at a critical stage in its 61-year history. The United Nations could look a lot different when he's finished.

South Korea's Ban Ki-moon. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press)The UN is in reform mode as it recovers

from the oil-for-food Iraq scandal. It also faces questions on whether it is relevant in a world that has become so divided among political, economic and ideological lines. And for the first

time in more than 30 years, an Asian is set to head the United Nations as the region touts its emerging and powerful role in world affairs.

With the support of the Security Council, the UN General Assembly appointed Ban in October 2006 to take over after current Secretary General Kofi Annan's mandate is over at the end of the year.

In Ban, the Security Council, which has the ultimate say in choosing the new head, gets a balanced and neutral choice. His appointment satisfies both the calls for an Asian secretary general and the United States, which considers South Korea to be a staunch ally.

"The Americans would certainly support the South Korean candidacy because that's sort of a validation of South Korea, which has been under the American orbit since the 1950s," Dr. Arne Kislenko, who teaches history and international relations at Ryerson University and University of Toronto, told CBC.ca.

Ban has indicated that he wants help steer the organization though change, noting that the "United Nations family must stay the course of reform."

How the secretary general is chosen

The council vote: The Security Council recommends a candidate for the General Assembly to appoint. The council uses straw votes to see who has the endorsement of at least nine members.

Veto: The five permanent members each have veto power. Therefore, the candidate for the post will need to be approved by all five.

Region: There is no rule about rotating the presidency according to region, but it was widely accepted that the next secretary general would be from Asia.

But critics of the UN have pointed to the makeup of the Security Council, which was created in the post Second World War period, as a possible problem. For example, notably absent from the council's permanent members is Japan, among others. A secretary general from Asia, says Kislenko, could act

s an agent of change.

American educated

Born in 1944, Ban entered a path toward politics and the land of diplomacy and his resumé marks him as a western-educated and influenced thinker. He has an international relations degree from Seoul National University and a master's degree in public administration from Harvard. He had served at South Korea's Washington embassy and also held a post as the director-general of American affairs.

"He's American-educated, he's a very worldly guy," Kislenko said. "The government of South Korea

has really changed in many ways and it's really shaken the image of a largely militaristic state. Ban is kind of an illustration of that, very progressive, very western-educated."

At the United Nations, Ban traces his history back 30 years. He has worked for South Korea at the United Nations headquarters in New York and more recently served as the chef du cabinet to the president of the General Assembly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A look at his priorities reflect that he says the organization should "take effective action" against terrorism.

Ban's reforms

A United Nations under Ban would address the threat of terrorism. He has said that the organization should pass a convention against terrorism. He sees the secretary general role as a hands-on position and said he'd act as a mediator in world events. He sees the position as being both a secretary and general, or as a manager and as a leader.

Also on Ban's list of reforms would be to overhaul the management of the "UN machinery" and organize its priorities. He says the organization's credibility will rely on whether it can meet its Millennium Development Goals on fighting such things as poverty and AIDS while improving development in third-world countries and maintaining a sustainable environment.

On peacekeeping, Ban says he would look for the organization to "produce real value on the ground." During a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, he brought up the example of the Rwandan genocide and the lack of action by the United Nations. "Greater political will must be mobilized to ensure that the tragic failure to protect innocent people should not happen again," he has said.

This underlines another key role of the United Nations. What power does the United Nations wield? "The United Nations' actual power is of great debate," Kislenko said, "but its symbolic power is huge."

Regional politics

Ban's appointment, a nod to Asia, may be of symbolic importance, but it may come to a head as world events converge on the region. The last time an Asian served as the secretary-general, U Thant of Burma, it was 1971. Since then, the political and economic weight of the region has grown considerably.

Past secretaries general

Kofi Annan, Ghana

1996 - 2006

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egypt

1992 - 1996

Javier Pérez de Cué llar, Peru

1982 - 1991

Kurt Waldheim, Austria

1972 - 1981

U Thant, Burma

1961-1971

Dag Hammarskj ö old, Sweden

1953-1961

Trygve Halvdan Lie, Norway

1946-52 China has emerged as an economic and political heavyweight, Japan's military is now being recast and North Korea's nuclear ambition has caused much worry and interest from Asia and among

the nuclear powers.

"It's an entirely different world," Kislenko said. "In the last 30 odd years, Asia has gone from being a collection of developing states and trouble states to being forerunner in power."

The South Korean has never strayed far away from the politics in his region, in fact, he has been integral to them. He served in a nuclear control commission for North and South Korea in the early 1990s and more recently, when he was the Foreign Minister, he was a key figure in the six-nation talks on North Korea nuclear program.

His stature in the region and knowledge of the language and issues would place him as a key player, but he would have to be seen as a mediator, not as a spokesman for South Korea's policies, Kislenko said.

'Artful dance'

"[Secretaries general] have to be willing and able step aside from their government and national interest and that is an artful dance that I think all UN heads have to do," Kislenko said, noting that there are always many issues for the United Nations, such as the simmering war of words

between the United States and Iran over, again, nuclear power.

And Ban's ascendancy marks a sort of coming of age for the United Nations. Just a few years after Ban was born, the United Nations first played an integral to the birth of South Korea in 1948 and later defended it during the Korean War in 1950.

"We Koreans have quite literally risen from the ashes of this war," Ban told the Council on Foreign Relations earlier this year. "We have done so through hard work, commitment, dedication and the help of friends, and particularly the United Nations."