South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the eighth UN secretary-general on Thursday, pledging to be a "bridge-builder" and lead a dynamic and courageous United Nations when he takes over on January 1.
Ban, 62, took the oath of office in a ceremony in the 192-nation UN General Assembly that also honoured the outgoing secretary-general, Kofi Annan of Ghana, 68, whose second five-year term ends on December 31.
"By strengthening the three pillars of our United Nations - security, development and human rights - we can build a more peaceful, more prosperous and more just world for succeeding generations," Ban told ambassadors from UN member-states and other dignitaries.
"As we pursue our collective endeavour to reach that goal, my first priority will be to restore trust. I will seek to act as a harmonizer and bridge-builder," Ban said, adding that world governments required a "dynamic and courageous" United Nations and not one that was "passive and fearful."
Key tasks will include injecting new life into a "sometimes weary" secretariat staff and setting "the highest ethical standard." Annan's tenure was stained by findings of corruption and mismanagement in the $64 billion oil-for-food program for Iraq and in UN procurement.
Ban's wife, Yoo Soon-taek, sat next to Annan's wife, Nane, in the audience as Assembly President Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa administered the oath of office.
In delivering the oath, Ban swore "not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any government or other authority external to the organisation."
Special guests included Han Seung-soo, under whom Ban served as chief of staff when Han served as General Assembly president in 2001-2002. A former foreign minister, Ban was selected by the 15-member UN Security Council in October and then approved by the General Assembly as the first Asian head of the organisation in 35 years.
But little is known about Ban's policies or future appointments, particularly compared to his high-profile predecessor, who travelled widely and spoke out on world issues, sometimes to the chagrin of the United States.
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