Who was the first Asian UN Secretary General?
"1961 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1961 to replace Dag Hammarskjöld after he was killed in a plane crash. After initial Soviet attempts to replace the Secretary-General with a troika, it was agreed that an Acting Secretary-General would be appointed for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's term. Within two weeks, U Thant of Burma emerged as the only candidate who was acceptable to both the Soviet Union and the United States. However, the superpowers spent another four weeks arguing over the number of Assistant Secretaries-General, before finally resolving their dispute by allowing Thant to"
"U Thant Thant (; ; ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-European to hold the position. He held the office for a record 10 years and one month (3,683 days) (taking into account a one-month vacancy in November–December 1966). A native of Pantanaw, Thant was educated at the National High School and at the Rangoon University. In the days of tense political climate in Burma, he held moderate views positioning himself between fervent nationalists"
"Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organisation and would serve as UN Secretary-General for ten years. Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was the young Aung San Suu Kyi. Until 2005, the United Nations General Assembly annually adopted a detailed resolution about the situation in Burma by consensus. But in 2006 a divided United Nations General Assembly voted through a resolution that strongly called upon the government of Burma to end its systematic violations of human rights. In January 2007, Russia and China"
"qualified women, including Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Louise Arbour, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and Tarja Halonen. Equality Now also noted that there are many qualified Asian women, including Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma, Sadako Ogata from Japan, Nafis Sadik from Pakistan, Anson Chan from Hong Kong, and Leticia Shahani from the Philippines. The idea of a female Secretary-General received some support, including from Kofi Annan and US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton), but no Asian women were nominated. Seven candidates were officially nominated for the position: A number of other potential candidates were mentioned by commentators but did not run, including"
"who was succeeded by Dr. Sarat Chandran, India (April 1999 – June 2003), Mr. Kittipan Kanjanapitkul from Thailand (June 2003 – August 2007), Dato’ Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia from Malaysia (August 2007 - August 2011), the first Asian woman to hold this position, Mr. Adam Maniku from Maldives (15 August 2011 - November 2013), and Mr. Kinley Dorji from Bhutan (May 2014 - April 2018). The incumbent Secretary-General, Ambassador Phan Kieu Thu, PhD from Vietnam assumed duties on 1 May 2018 as the organisation's 7th Secretary-General. The Plan has been criticised on various grounds. Some Asians see in it only the"
"the idea of a Korean taking the role of Secretary-General. Due to the overwhelming support of Ban by the rest of the Security Council, Japan later voted in favor of Ban to avoid controversy. More importantly, Ban was the only one to escape a veto; each of the other candidates received at least one ""no"" vote from among the five permanent members. After the vote, Shashi Tharoor, who finished second, withdrew his candidacy and China's Permanent Representative to the UN told reporters that ""it is quite clear from today's straw poll that Minister Ban Ki-moon is the candidate that the"
"Lie, was the first to be appointed Secretary-General under the UN Charter. Trygve Lie, a foreign minister and former labour leader, was recommended by the Soviet Union to fill the post. All other candidates were vetoed by the United States or the Soviet Union. After the UN involvement in the Korean War, the Soviet Union vetoed Trygve Lie's reappointment. The United States circumvented the Soviet veto by taking the choice directly to the General Assembly. Lie was reappointed by a vote of 46 to 5, with eight abstentions. The Soviet Union remained hostile to Lie, and he resigned in 1952."
"On 17 March 1953, the Soviet Union suggested Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Benegal Rama Rau of India for the Secretary-Generalship. The nomination of two Indians was calculated to force the Western powers to cast an embarrassing vote against an Asian. However, this became unnecessary when Nationalist China informed the United States that it would veto both candidates, as India recognized Communist China. The U.S. State Department felt that it was ""very bad for the United Nations"" if an Indian became Secretary-General, since ""the problem facing the United Nations now is stopping Communist agression and ... this can not be done"
"United Nations Secretary General Geneva, Swiss - The Grand Opening ""PATA Conference"" 13–17 April 2003, Bali – Indonesia The Grand Opening ""Borobudur International Festival"" 11–17 June 2003, Central Java - Indonesia World Peace Gong The World Peace Gong (id: World Peace Gong created by HE Mr Ahmad Nurcholish - President of the World Peace Committee for 202 Countries after Bali Bomb 12 October 2002. First launching by President of the Republic of Indonesia Mrs Megawati on 31 December 2002 at Bali, Indonesia. Second launching by Secretary General of United Nations Mr Kofi Annan on 5 February 2003 on Geneva, Switzerland."
"had been administered separately by the British. In 1961, U Thant, Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations; he was the first non-Westerner to head any international organisation and would serve as UN Secretary-General for ten years. Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi. In 1962, General Ne Win led a coup d'état and established a nominally socialist military government that sought to follow the ""Burmese Way to Socialism"". The military expropriated private businesses"
"powerful personality and leadership. Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean diplomat who was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India. Ban was the foreign minister of South Korea from January 2004 to November 2006. In February 2006 he began to campaign for the office of Secretary-General. Ban"
"the Norwegian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. On 1 February 1946, he was elected as the first Secretary-General of the United Nations as a result of a compromise between the major powers, having missed being elected President of the first General Assembly by only a small margin. As Secretary-General, Lie supported the foundations of Israel and Indonesia. His passionate support for Israel included passing secret military and diplomatic information to Israeli officials. He worked for the withdrawal of Soviet forces in Iran and a ceasefire to fighting in Kashmir. He attracted the ire of the Soviet"
"United Nations Security Council Resolution 1090 United Nations Security Council resolution 1090, adopted without a vote at a closed meeting on 13 December 1996, having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Mr. Kofi Annan be appointed for a term of office from 1 January 1997, to 31 December 2001. Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat, was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. The United States had vetoed another term for his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, due to lack of reform. It was the"
"Asian of the Century Asian of the Century is a centurial issue of the 20th century held by American AsianWeek magazine and CNN in 1999 that features and profiles Asian persons who have topped their respective fields. Mahatma Gandhi was declared as the ""Asian of the Century"". Those people featured are considered as ""The person who contributed most to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years'"". The Big Five are: There was a long list of runners-up, such as Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Amartya Sen, Bruce Lee (1940–1973), Chang Min Chueh (1919–1991), Gregory Pincus, M.S. Swaminathan, Rodolfo Aquino, Goh"
"Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shah A M S Kibria as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations commission. It was at a reception at his house in Bangkok, Thailand that he broached the idea of an association of South Asian nations in the ASEAN model to the Bhutanese Foreign Minister, and this started discussions which led to the proclamation of SAARC (the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) by Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman, after extensive diplomatic groundwork done by Dastgir's brother-in-law then Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Ambassador Humayun Rasheed Choudhury who went on to become the President of the 41st UN General"
"Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean diplomat who was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India. Ban was the foreign minister of South Korea from January 2004 to November 2006. In February 2006 he began to campaign for the office of Secretary-General. Ban was initially considered to"
"SAARC Secretary General Secretary–General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is head of a SAARC Secretariat, which is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies, one from each nation, who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan, who was its first Secretary-General,"
"9 October 1952. Its site—like UN headquarters buildings in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi—is designated as international territory. The Norwegian Foreign Minister, Trygve Lie, was elected as the first UN Secretary-General. Though the UN's primary mandate was peacekeeping, the division between the US and USSR often paralysed the organization, generally allowing it to intervene only in conflicts distant from the Cold War. A notable exception was a Security Council resolution on 7 July 1950 authorizing a US-led coalition to repel the North Korean invasion of South Korea, passed in the absence of the USSR.), and the signing the Korean Armistice Agreement"
"Hartono Rekso Dharsono Hartono Rekso Dharsono (Pekalongan, Central Java, 10 June 1925 - Bandung, West Java, 5 June 1996) or more commonly known as HR Dharsono was a prominent General in the early years of General Suharto's New Order regime. He also held the distinction of being the first Secretary General of ASEAN. Dharsono was born in Pekalongan, Central Java. He was the ninth child of Raden Prayitno Rekso, a civil servant working in the same town. After completing primary education in Pekalongan, Dharsono moved to Semarang and Jakarta for junior high school before going back to Semarang to complete"
"first time that a Security Council resolution had been adopted by acclamation. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1090 United Nations Security Council resolution 1090, adopted without a vote at a closed meeting on 13 December 1996, having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Mr. Kofi Annan be appointed for a term of office from 1 January 1997, to 31 December 2001. Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat, was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations. The United States had vetoed another term for"
"2006 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 2006 to succeed Kofi Annan, whose second term as Secretary-General of the United Nations ran until 31 December 2006. Seven candidates were officially nominated for the position. The United Nations Security Council conducted a series of unofficial straw polls between 24 July and 2 October. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon led the polls from the start, emerging as the only candidate with the support of all five veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council (P5). After the final straw poll, all of the other candidates withdrew."
"of the race, but Kurt Waldheim of Austria won the most votes in the first round. Carlos Ortiz de Rozas of Argentina also passed the 9-vote threshold in the second round. However, China vetoed Waldheim, and the Soviet Union vetoed Jakobson and Ortiz. Prior to the third round, the U.S. and UK delegations received instructions to prevent Waldheim from being selected, but they decided to abstain and rely on the Chinese veto. To their surprise, China switched its veto to an abstention. Kurt Waldheim received no vetoes and was selected Secretary-General for a term starting on 1 January 1972. Kurt"
"United Nations Security Council Resolution 1358 United Nations Security Council resolution 1358, adopted by acclamation at a closed meeting on 27 June 2001, having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Mr. Kofi Annan be appointed for a second term of office from 1 January 2002, to 31 December 2006. Annan's election was uncontested as he had declared his intention to run for Secretary-General in March 2001 and nations had approved of his decision immediately. His appointment was subsequently endorsed by the General"
"plan to bypass the Security Council by having the General Assembly President carry out the duties of Secretary-General. After a week of negotiation, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on U Thant of Burma to take over Hammarskjöld's role. However, the two superpowers deadlocked for four weeks on how many Assistant Secretaries-General there would be, with the United States insisting on five, and the Soviet Union proposing three, four, six, or seven. The deadlock was finally broken when the superpowers agreed to let Thant decide for himself. Thant was unanimously selected Acting Secretary-General for the remainder of Hammarskjöld's"
"Assembly. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1358 United Nations Security Council resolution 1358, adopted by acclamation at a closed meeting on 27 June 2001, having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that Mr. Kofi Annan be appointed for a second term of office from 1 January 2002, to 31 December 2006. Annan's election was uncontested as he had declared his intention to run for Secretary-General in March 2001 and nations had approved of his decision immediately. His appointment was subsequently endorsed by the"
"United Nations Security Council Resolution 1733 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1733, adopted by acclamation at a closed meeting on December 22, 2006, after recognising the role of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Council paid tribute to Kofi Annan, whose term as Secretary-General would come to an end on December 31, 2006. Ban Ki-moon would succeed Annan as Secretary-General from January 1, 2007. The Council praised Annan for guiding the United Nations under the United Nations Charter, his attempts to find durable solutions to conflicts around the world and to undertake reforms at the organisation. It acknowledged the"
"accept the other's candidate, they compromised on Trygve Lie of Norway, who became the first Secretary-General of the United Nations. In the late 1940s, international tensions affected the workings of the United Nations. Norway joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949, placing the post of Secretary-General in the hands of a country that was aligned with one side in the Cold War. Lie took the United Nations into the Korean War in 1950, leading the Soviet Union to veto his re-selection in 1950. The United States then announced that it would veto every other candidate. With the Security Council"
"Fighting the innovation antibodies: Three years of exploration at UNDP Asia-Pacific Haoliang Xu Haoliang Xu is an Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme. Appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on 13 August 2013, Xu oversees UNDP support to country and regional sustainable development programmes in 36 countries in Asia and Pacific. Haoliang Xu's tenure has been focused on reinventing UNDP's 24 Country Offices in Asia-Pacific, the Regional Hub in Bangkok and Headquarters in New York. The signature issues of"
"1,681—SA—Lim Koon Teck 50.90% – 7,745—PAP—S. V. Lingam 30.39% – 4,624—BS—Thio Kheng Lock 07.66% – 1,165—UPP—Woo Kong Seng Lim Koon-Teck died on 29 October 1984 at the age of 80 years, leaving behind his wife (née Seow Guat Beng), two daughters (Mrs. William Turnbull née Lim Cheng-Kim, Penny Lim Cheng-Sim), and three grandchildren. On 31 October 1984 his body was removed from his residence at 5 Balmoral Road to Mount Vernon Crematoria. Lim Koon Teck Lim Koon Teck () (28 November 1904–29 October 1984) was a barrister-at-law, industrialist and politician in the Malaya and Singapore. He was the first Asian"
"Gordon Chung-Hoon Gordon Paiea Chung-Hoon (July 25, 1910 – July 24, 1979) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served during World War II and was the first Asian American flag officer. He received the Navy Cross and Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism as commanding officer of from May 1944 to October 1945. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on July 25, 1910. His father, William Chung-Hoon Jr., a Chinese-English-Hawaiian, was a county treasurer and his mother Agnes Punana, a Hawaiian, was a member of the Kaʻahumanu Society. Chung-Hoon was the fourth of five children"
"would have joined as co-sponsors, and the Soviet Union did not accept the participation of Nationalist China. The General Assembly voted that afternoon by secret ballot to accept the Security Council's recommendation. In a unanimous vote of 103-0-0, the General Assembly appointed U Thant as Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations for a term ending on 10 April 1963. U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson announced in May 1962 that he would vote for Thant's re-election. Thant subsequently played a major role in resolving the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. A second term was assured when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made"
"1981 United Nations Secretary-General selection A United Nations Secretary-General selection was held in 1981. Kurt Waldheim ran for an unprecedented third full term as Secretary-General, losing to Salim Ahmed Salim by one vote. However, the selection deadlocked through 16 rounds of voting as China vetoed Waldheim and the United States voted against Salim. The Security Council finally settled on a dark horse candidate who stayed home and did not campaign. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was selected for a term beginning on 1 January 1982, becoming the first Secretary-General from Latin America. The deadlock was finally broken by a system of"
"Haoliang Xu Haoliang Xu is an Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme. Appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on 13 August 2013, Xu oversees UNDP support to country and regional sustainable development programmes in 36 countries in Asia and Pacific. Haoliang Xu's tenure has been focused on reinventing UNDP's 24 Country Offices in Asia-Pacific, the Regional Hub in Bangkok and Headquarters in New York. The signature issues of his leadership include: Repositioning UNDP from a donor to a sustainable"