Ban mild-mannered but tough

SEOUL: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, now the hot favourite to become the next United Nations secretary general, conceals a driving determination behind his mild manner.

The career diplomat was set to succeed Kofi Annan after all five of the UN Security Council's permanent members gave him their backing yesterday in the latest straw poll to determine who the council will recommend for the job.

"Minister Ban is a kind of iron-hand-in-the-velvet-glove person at work," said Ko Ki-Seok, a foreign ministry spokesman who also termed him a "people person" concerned about staff welfare.

Ban himself has acknowledged that he may be seen as too soft for the world's toughest diplomatic post.

"I may look soft from the outside but I have inner strength when it's really necessary. I've always been very decisive," he said.

"In Asian countries humility is regarded as a virtue. Soft-speaking should in no way be regarded as a lack of leadership or commitment."

The 62-year-old is resolute and energetic in getting things done, according to foreign ministry officials.

"He was born healthy," said Ko. "He never fails in his killing work schedule that divides each day into a schedule of five minutes at a time."

Ban says he wants to channel that determination into reforms to make the world body leaner and more efficient.

He said the most urgent issue confronting the UN was "management reform, regaining the trust and confidence of member states and major stakeholders."

Ban, in office for 33 months, is one of South Korea's longer-serving foreign ministers -- surviving the sometimes turbulent diplomacy on the divided Korean peninsula.

Officials and acquaintances see him as a non-partisan professional who works diligently.

Former foreign minister Hong Soon-Young, who picked Ban as his deputy, described him as "a very capable and faithful man."

"Maybe I am biased in favour of him. But Ban is very well qualified to be a UN secretary general. Once elected, he would be capable of performing the job brilliantly," Hong said.

"He is a man committed to the ideals of the United Nations and the values of the international community --democracy and human rights."

Ban has always been proud of his 36-year career in the foreign service, which has included 10 years on UN-related missions.

He became a diplomat in 1970 after graduating from the prestigious Seoul National University and doing postgraduate studies at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Ban had a stint as first secretary at South Korea's UN mission from 1978 to 1980 and was director of the foreign ministry's UN division until 1983.

He served as South Korea's chief envoy to the UN for two years from 2001 and also led the cabinet of the president of the 56th UN General Assembly.

Ban is married to his high-school sweetheart, Yoo Soon-Taek, and they have one son and two daughters. The eldest daughter is working for UNICEF in Africa.