Ambassador Javad Zarif presented his credentials as the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 5 August 2002 to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Zarif is a career diplomat and has served in different senior positions in the Iranian Foreign Ministry and at various international organizations. His responsibility from 1992 until his appointment as Permanent Represetative was Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, and United Nations
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is vice chairman of Perseus LLC, a leading private equity firm. He is the former US ambassador to the UN and was the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement (which ended the war in Bosnia). He is the chairman of the Asia Society, chairman of the American Academy in Berlin, and president and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
Topic:
International Relations, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi is the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He previously served as Director-General of the World Trade Organization (September 2002 to August 2005).
Well it all depends, of course, on how people react to internal experience. I obviously see this as a major asset because I spent 28 years in the United Nations system in a wide variety of activities. I have worked for refugees and humanitarian operations, as well as in peacekeeping at the end of the Cold War; in the Secretary-General's own office, where I've seen his work at close quarters, and then in the management of a rather large department which I have essentially been able to reform.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Diplomacy, and United Nations
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is presently the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea. His election as new UN Secretary-General seems certain following the decision by all the other candidates to withdraw from the race. This interview with AsiaSource was conducted by Nermeen Shaikh on September 26th, while Foreign Minister Ban was in New York for the UN General Assemby session. The Foreign Minister also delivered a speech to the Asia Society the previous day, "The Quest for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and Beyond".
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and United Nations