South Korean politician and diplomat, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister of foreign affairs and trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a manoeuvre that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front-runner.

Born

1944

June 13

Died

Living

Era

1940s

Country

—

About

Ban, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1944 Born

Also on June 13

What else happened on this day, through history

313 The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia.
1325 Ibn Battuta begins his travels, leaving his home in Tangiers to travel to Mecca (gone 24 years).
1381 In England, the Peasants' Revolt, led by Wat Tyler, comes to a head, as rebels set fire to the Savoy Palace.
1514 Henry Grace à Dieu, at over 1,000 tons the largest warship in the world at this time, built at the new Woolwich Dockyard in England, is dedicated.

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The world in 1944

When Ban arrived

april 1 World War II: Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.
april 10 Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
april 16 World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
april 17 Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People's Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on June 13

Alessandro Piccolomini 1508– Italian astronomer and philosopher (died 1579) Augusto Roa Bastos 1917–2005 Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (born 1917) Diego Mendieta 1980– Paraguayan footballer (died 2012) Frances Burney 1752–1840 English author and playwright (born 1752) Gao Qifeng 1889–1933 Chinese painter (died 1933) Jamario Moon 1980– American basketball player James Calado 1989– English racing driver Ryan McDonagh 1989– American ice hockey defenseman Sal Paolantonio 1956– American lieutenant and journalist

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1944

Al Kooper 1944– American singer-songwriter and producer Al Michaels 1944– American sportscaster Angélica María 1944– American-born Mexican singer-songwriter and actress Anne Robinson 1944– English journalist and game show host António Variações 1944–1984 Portuguese musician (died 1984) Azizan Abdul Razak 1944–2013 Malaysian politician, 10th Menteri Besar of Kedah (died 2013) Barry White 1944–2003 American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (born 1944) Carlos Alberto Torres 1944–2016 Brazilian footballer and manager (died 2016) Carolyn McCarthy 1944–2025 American nurse and politician (died 2025)

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More to explore

Ban's birthday June 13 Ban's zodiac Gemini When Ban arrived 1944