Leader of the Nations (1/3)

The U.N.'s new secretary-general hopes to usher in a new era
 

Ban Ki-moon puts on a heavy crown

South Korean former Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon found out how hard his new job was going to be as soon as he officially assumed the position of the United Nations (U.N)secretary-general in early January. He had to deal with the crises in Somalia, where several countries were making a poorly orchestrated attempt to eliminate the African counterpart of the Afghan Taliban, and he had to help a legal government assert its power.

But when EU Foreign Minister Xavier Solana suggested sending U.N. peacekeepers to Somalia, it transpired that the U.N. nominally controls up to 100,000 peacekeeping troops in 19 hotspots . There is no end to those who would like to invite the blue helmets to their own lands.

In his first days in office, Ban Ki-moon realized that the main result of his predecessor Kofi Annan's 10-year rule was a sharp increase in the demand for the U.N. This is good news. The bad news is that the U.N. is too weak to parry this challenge.

How will he measure up?
 
It is no use trying to guess whether Ban Ki-moon will be a match for Kofi Annan, because he will have to be more influential.He will have to wear a heavy crown as the leader of a supranational organization. For the time being it is not yet clear how Ban Ki-moon will display his brilliant diplomatic skills in this capacity.

Vocabulary Focus

assume  (v) ---to take or claim responsibility or control, sometimes without the right to do so

nominally (adv) ---supposedly, allegedly, but not in realit

parry(v) ---to manage cleverly to avoid dealing with a diffciult questiona or some criticism

measure up(phr) ---to be good enouth, or as good as someone or something else

for the time being(idiom) ---describing how a situation will be for a period of time, but possibly changing in the future

Specialized Terms

secretary-general  (n) ---秘书长the most important official of an organization

countepart(n) ---有对等地位的人或物a person or thing that has the same purpose as another one in a different place or organization

peacekeeper(n) ---维和人员 someone, usually a member of the armed forces, involved in the activity of precenting war and violence

blue helmets(n) ---蓝盔部队the name given to U.N. peacekeepers because of their light blue helmets