Who

Formerly South Korea's foreign minister, Ban Ki-Moon became the world's most important civil servant in 2007 when he took over the job of Secretary-General of the United Nations from Kofi Annan.

Backstory

Ban is a career diplomat: He spent close to 40 years working at various posts around the world on behalf of South Korea. (He says he first dreamed of becoming a diplomat when he met President Kennedy at the White House as an 18-year-old student visiting Washington, DC.) He served as South Korea's minister of foreign affairs and national security advisor, where he headed up the country's negotiations with North Korea over that country's nuclear weapons program. When Secretary General Kofi Annan stepped down on December 31, 2006 after two five-year terms, the 15-member Security Council selected Ban to replace him.

Of note

Low key and laid-back (or bland and uncharismatic, according to critics), Ban doesn't have the same sort of public profile that Annan had as Secretary General. But Ban's cool-headedness may be what the U.N. needs these days. The sprawling bureaucracy with 9,000 employees and a budget of more than $5 billion has been racked by scandals in recent years such as the oil-for-food program—and there are plenty of hotspots around the globe to worry about like Iraq, Darfur, North Korea, and Iran. He got a taste of danger himself during a visit to Iraq in March 2007: a mortar exploded nearby while he was speaking and although he wasn't hurt, he was visibly shaken.

Keeping score

He takes home a salary of $227,253 a year.

True story

The French government reportedly agreed to his nomination only on the condition he begin taking French lessons. Although his official bio states he's fluent in French, a French-Canadian reporter embarrassed Ban in 2006 when he posed a question in French at a press conference, and Ban had to reply in English.

Personal

He's married to Yoo (Ban) Soon-taek, whom he met in high school. They have a son and two daughters. Ban resides for free in the official Secretary General's residence, a four-story Sutton Place townhouse that recently underwent a $4.3 million renovation. (The upgrade included a $2.1 million heating and cooling system, $650,000 in security improvements and $100,000 in new landscaping.) The 14,000-square-foot townhouse was built in 1921 for Anne Morgan, the daughter of financier J.P. Morgan, and given to the UN as a gift in 1972.