Asia now has three leading diplomats officially seeking to become the next UN secretary-general, after South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon threw his hat into the ring Tuesday.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lankan diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala had already declared their candidacies.

Ban, 61, has been South Korea's foreign minister since January 2004 and has also served as the country's ambassador to the United Nations.

He said he was asked to be Seoul's candidate for the job to help increase South Korea' contribution to the global body.

"I humbly accept this," he told a news conference, adding he would use his job as foreign minister to conduct a low-key campaign.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's second five-year term ends on December 31 and UN tradition calls for a rotation of the post to a certain region. Most countries recognise it is Asia's turn.

The secretary-general is appointed by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. The selection is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Council.

A career diplomat, Ban came from a poor rural background but is fluent in English and recently impressed a crowd in Paris with an address he delivered in French.

Ban said South Korea's spectacular rise from the ruins of war and its economic and political accomplishments mirror the ideals of the UN and thus make its candidate ideal for the job.

Sathirathai, a graduate of Harvard Law School, served as Thailand's foreign minister from 2001 until last year, before taking over as deputy premier.

Dhanapala was former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs from 1998 until 2003. He joined Sri Lanka's diplomatic service in 1965 and has served in London, Beijing, Washington and New Delhi. In 1984 he was appointed ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.

He recently represented the government in peace talks with the Tamil Tigers.

Other possible candidates

Among the other likely candidates are East Timor Senior Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Ramos-Horta, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

But analysts say the next secretary-general may not even be among the current named and possible candidates, given the UN's history of last-minute compromises in filling the post.

In Bangkok, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman said Asia should field a single candidate to better its chances.

Richard Holbrooke, a former US ambassador to the UN, said in the Washington Post on February 3 that Annan's replacement was almost certain to come from Asia.

And there is wide support for an Asian candidate among the 191 UN member states.

However, the United States is apparently against the tradition. Washington's UN ambassador, John Bolton, said last month that Annan's successor should be selected without regard to geographic location.

Source: China Daily