The 192-member body approved Annan's successor by acclamation. Ban, the second Asian man to be UN secretary-general after U Thant of Burma, is expected to be officially inaugurated on January 1.

The world's media responded quickly to Ban's appointment, saying he would face challenges in the fields of security, development, human rights and UN reform.

Ban's winning the secretary-general's post is attributed to the following five factors.

First, his nomination received the nod from all the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, though achieving the consensus was by no means smooth sailing.

Of the five, only China and Russia favoured a candidate from Asia. The United States cast its eyes on North or Central Europe, Britain chimed in with Washington and France did not show clearly where it stood. In addition, the Western media generally inclined towards the United States' position.

China, however, stuck to its position on choosing a person from Asia for the top UN job and pushed for it strenuously.

Furthermore, Secretary-General Kofi Annan unequivocally threw his support behind this stance. In addition, 53 African nations and more than 30 Latin American countries showed their support for the Chinese and Russian position.

Under such circumstances, the other three Security Council permanent members began to shift their stances towards favouring a person from Asia and their attitudes became increasingly clear. US President George W Bush, for example, wished Ban "good luck" when the latter accompanied South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to the White House during Roh's US visit in early September.

Second, other Asian candidates from Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Jordan and Afghanistan quit the race after seeing the results of the third and fourth rounds of initial voting and, in turn, lent their support to Ban.

Third, South Korea's status as a moderately-sized country, and particularly the fact that it is playing a positive role in maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, won favour with the majority of the United Nations members, most of which are small or medium-sized nations.

Experience indicates that people from small or medium-sized nations holding the top UN post helps cement the unity of the United Nations and facilitates its work. Besides, Ban is from the Republic of Korea, which makes people entertain great expectations of his handling of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. This is where his advantage lay.

Fourth, South Korea launched forceful public-relations diplomacy and lobbying activities and dealt with the uncertainties calmly. The whole country, from president down to common people, left no stone unturned to support Ban's election. Ban's own lobbying at the United Nations and in African countries also yielded positive results.

Fifth, Ban Ki-moon's background worked in his favour. He specialised in diplomacy in college and excelled in the South Korean Foreign Ministry's civil service tests. Ban later became vice-minister of foreign affairs and trade during former president Kim Dae-jung's tenure, then President Roh Moon-hyun's foreign affairs adviser and finally held the portfolio of minister of foreign affairs and trade.

Ban is calm by nature, very observant and has a quick mind. He enjoys proficiency in English and French and has a mastery of German and Japanese. All these factors partly explained his win.

What is expected of Ban Ki-moon as the new UN secretary-general?

Six factors should be taken into consideration in appraising the responsibilities and role of the UN secretary-general:

l The United Nations Charter's definition of the secretary-general's area of responsibility;

l The particular nature of the post and its Herculean tasks;

l The general international situation;

l The balance of power between all the players on the world stage;

l The point where the interests of the developed and the developing nations meet; and

l The human and financial resources at the disposal of the UN headquarters.

The six factors do not influence the secretary-general all at one time. But the first, third, fourth and fifth ones are constantly in effect. The secretary-general is supposed to bring his own initiatives into play in handling the complex international situation as well as not overstep the limits of his areas of responsibility as mandated by the United Nations Charter.

He is also supposed to take care of both the interests of the developing world and the big powers, tapping to the utmost his manoeuvring abilities. And he is expected to show his stance unequivocally on hot-spot issues while patiently and astutely working on the parties involved, offering good offices and brokering negotiations.

It is hoped that Ban Ki-moon will complete his missions as the new UN secretary-general.

Wu Miaofa

China Daily

Beijing

The author is a researcher from the China Institute of International Studies.

China Daily is a member of the Asia News Network.