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Consensus and Risk: The Challenges to the New UN General-Secretary
06/03/2007 By Gelson Fonseca
Ban Ki-moon, the South-Korean diplomat, assumed the command of the United Nations General Secretariat on January 1, 2007. His predecessor, Kofi Annan, has undoubtedly and significantly contributed to contemporary international relations.
It is no coincidence that two biographers devoted their attention to him. 1 Annan's mandate coincided with an important period in which the number of UN activities increased, especially those related to peace and security issues.
In fact, the Organisation, over the last few years, in addition to working with traditional mechanisms to solve conflicts, started with nation building with the purpose of reconstructing States or public institutions, for example, in Timor-Leste and Kosovo.
Despite the criticism, Annan was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Which role would the new Secretary-General play to bridge the gap between supply and demand, between hope and frustration?
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UNBio author: Gelson Fonseca
Gelson Fonseca is a professional diplomat, since 1970. He is currently the consul of Brazil in Madrid (since 2006). Gelson Fonseca is member of the board of directors of the Brasilian Council of International Relations (Conselho Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais) and of the Institute of International Relations of the University of São Paulo. He is also a member of the editorial section of the journals "Politica Externa" and "Contexto Internacional".
