KEY POINTS:
UNITED NATIONS - South Korea's Ban Ki-moon was sworn in as the eighth UN secretary-general today and vowed to restore trust in an institution tainted by scandal and a growing divide between rich and poor nations.
The former South Korean foreign minister, 62, takes over on January 1, succeeding Ghanaian Kofi Annan, 68, who steps down at the end of the month after 10 years as UN leader.
"You could say that I am a man on a mission. And my mission could be dubbed 'Operation Restore Trust': Trust in the organisation and trust between member-states and the secretariat," Ban said.
"I hope this mission is not 'Mission Impossible,"' he told reporters after taking the oath of office before the 192-nation UN General Assembly.
Annan's tenure was stained by findings of corruption and mismanagement in the US$64 billion ($94 billion) oil-for-food programme for Iraq and in UN procurement, infuriating Washington, the world body's biggest dues-payer.
At the same time, developing nations revolted against Annan's reform plans and a US-led effort to streamline the UN bureaucracy, a campaign they saw as a grab by the rich for more control over UN programmes and priorities.
"The time has come for a new day in relations between the secretariat and member states," Ban said in an indirect criticism of Annan. "The dark night of distrust and disrespect has lasted far too long."
At the same time he lavished praise on Annan, saying his tenure was marked by "high ideals, noble aspirations and bold initiatives."
Key tasks, Ban said, will include injecting new life into a "sometimes weary" secretariat staff and setting "the highest ethical standard".
Ban's wife, Yoo Soon-taek, sat next to Annan's Swedish wife, Nane, 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".
Asian
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.
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.
At a news conference following his swearing in, Ban was short on policy specifics and said he would make no staff appointments until after the start of the year. But he indicated he was searching for a woman to be deputy secretary-general.
John Bolton, the outgoing US ambassador, an early Ban supporter, made clear he wanted more of a secretary than a general by saying repeatedly the UN Charter described the job only as the world body's "chief administrative officer."
But in an interview with Reuters after his election, Ban cautioned those who called him low-key not to mistake him for a pushover.
"I may look low-key or (be) soft-spoken, but that does not mean that I lack leadership or commitment," he said.
Ban will start his five-year term in what Annan has called the world's most impossible job with a daunting agenda that stretches from the threats of nuclear proliferation and terrorism to reform of the United Nations management.
But the future secretary-general showed he could poke fun at himself at a UN correspondents dinner, acknowledging that journalists in Seoul called him "Slippery Eel" while in New York they referred to him as a "Teflon diplomat."
"These names may reflect different cultures," Ban said. "But they all point to one and the same thing: When I want to, I will elude you as masterfully as any secret agent."
- REUTERS
