Posted on 09/28/2006 4:22:31 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
SOUTH Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon won a third informal straw poll in the United Nations security council today to decide who will succeed Kofi Annan as UN chief, diplomats said.
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters that Mr Ban had finished ahead of India's Shashi Tharoor, a UN undersecretary in charge of communications, and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the only woman in the seven-member field.
Mr Ban, 62, thus consolidated his status as the odds-on favourite to succeed Mr Annan when the Ghanaian secretary-general steps down at the end of December after 10 years in office.
As in the two previous rounds, the 15 council members, including the five veto-wielding permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - had the options of casting "encouraging", "discouraging" and "no opinion" ballots.
Mr Ban received 13 encouraging, one negative and one "no opinion" votes, compared with eight positive, three negative and four "no opinion" for Mr Tharoor and seven positive, six negative and two "no opinion" for Ms Vike-Freiberga, diplomats said.
It was an honourable performance for Ms Vike-Freiberga, who, like Afghanistan's former finance minister Ashraf Ghani did not take part in the two previous informal polls held in July and September 14.
Trailing in today's secret ballot were Surakiart Sathirathai, deputy prime minister of the ousted Thai government, followed by Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala, Jordan's UN ambassador Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein and Afghanistan's Mr Ghani, the diplomats said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Anyone know the current makeup of the Security Council? I'd like to guess which nation opposes Ban.
He found out the interns are male.
China is my guess...
Clinton has a good thing going with the Clinton Global Initiative.... tons of money and nobody to answer to.
If he wants the job, he can have it...
South Korean moves ahead in race for U.N. top post
Reuters | 9/15/06 | Evelyn Leopold
Posted on 09/15/2006 4:03:06 AM EDT by bruinbirdman
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