Emerging from the White House and his first encounter with Bush since taking the U.N. helm, Ban was asked of his impression and replied, "I found him a great leader."

This was quickly added to the perceived litany of faux pas the new secretary-general has generated.

He was asked to elaborate.

"In diplomacy it is appropriate to address any head of state or government with due respect and courtesy," he said, adding with a smile, "I hope you will understand that this is a diplomatic practice."

After former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed, Ban was asked if he approved of the death penalty and initially waffled, saying while he was pro-life and U.N. organizations opposed it, he had to respect the rights of individual states. Ban later said he was against capital punishment as was the United Nations.

Then, Ban, a Christian, evaded a reporter's question as to whether he believed in God, saying it was a personal matter. In that same session with the media he famously blundered a question asked in French, and for a response in French, by claiming he couldn't hear the question. It was translated to those wearing earphones but he didn't pick one up.

Ban has been studying French, a language a certain veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council required a secretary-general to speak before approving his candidacy.

In a subsequent session a question was posed in French with a like reply requested. This time the secretary-general responded in French that while he had been studying the language he would prefer to answer the particular question in English.

A few of his early appointments of senior staff have come under criticism, namely albeit, from the media. In fact, diplomats hailed his choice for deputy secretary-general, a woman from a developing country, Asha-Rose Migiro, the foreign minister of Tanzania.

Reporters had questioned the appointees' experience, how much he had interviewed them and what was released when their appointments were announced.

While Ban may have stumbled in a few of his first steps he is not bowed. He appears at ease and does not shy away from brief informal sessions with reporters and even visited the offices of individual reporters.

But in spelling out his optimism for the future, Ban chose Washington for the venue, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said the challenges confronting the international community have grown infinitely more complicated since the United Nations was founded 61 years ago.

"The demands placed on the United Nations have become ever more complex," Ban said. "But if you are an optimist, as I am, you will also know that this world of complex and global challenges is exactly the environment in which our United Nations should thrive -- because these are challenges that no country can resolve on its own."

Plunging right into what the future looks like, he said, "The year ahead will be a deeply taxing one. I have already had to hit the ground running. On peace and security, I see a number of immediate priorities.

"First, we must step up action to confront the tragedy of (Sudan's western region of) Darfur," Ban said.

It will be one of the subjects of his first trip abroad as secretary-general, to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Second, we need to make serious efforts for progress in the Middle East," he said. "That entails work on several broad fronts. Iraq is the whole world's problem. I pledge my best efforts to help the Iraqi people in their quest for a more stable and prosperous Iraq."

Ban said on the Israeli-Palestinian question he would work to make the diplomatic Quartet a more effective mechanism for resolving differences in the region, "differences that carry such a unique symbolic and emotional charge for people far beyond the physical boundaries of the conflict."

He promised to support Lebanon "in everything from its physical reconstruction to its quest -- as yet incomplete -- for a peaceful, democratic and fully independent future."

"Third, we need to invigorate disarmament and non-proliferation efforts," Ban said. "On North Korea, I will try my best to facilitate the smooth process of the six-party process" and encourage de-nuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

"Fourth, we must not turn away from Kosovo," Ban said of the ethnic Albanian- dominated Serbian province. "We must keep working for a conclusive resolution to the uncertainty that still hangs over Kosovo's status. If unresolved, this issue threatens to cast a shadow over regional stability in southeastern Europe."

The secretary-general called the challenges "daunting."

But, he added, the security issues "must not be allowed to overwhelm the equally important challenges" on development, "not only vital to building better, healthier, more decent lives for millions of people; it is also essential to building enduring peace and security worldwide."

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