TED Blog
« BIGGER BOLDER TEDDER Than Ever Before! | Main | "Paradox of Choice" author Barry Schwartz on TEDTalks »
20 September 2006
Two TEDsters in the race to succeed Kofi Annan
Last week, the list of potential successors to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
- he will step down at the end of his second five-year term, on December 31st – seemed to have narrowed down to two names: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon and the current Undersecretary-General Shashi Tharoor, from India – a TEDster: he spoke at TED2005, presenting the TEDPrize recipients with the award and noting that "problems without passport" continue threatening many human lives. Tharoor is also a well-regarded author.
But another candidate just signalled that he will join the race: Ashraf Ghani, the former Finance Minister of Afghanistan – also a TEDster. Ghani has significant UN and World Bank credentials, and he was one of the strongest voices at last year’s TEDGLOBAL in Oxford (picture right), where he offered an articulate vision and impressed everyone speaking about the need to mobilize capital and encourage investments in developing countries: "One dollar of investment has the same impact as $20 of aid", he said (we will soon release his full speech on TEDtalks). That’s a powerful, reform-oriented statement. Whether it’s also a good
electoral platform for getting the top U.N. job, however, remains to be
seen.
Discuss this Blog Post
Find stories on the TED Blog about:
Become a Fan of TED
on Facebook
Follow TED on Twitter:
@TEDNews | @TEDTalks
Subscribe to TED RSS feeds:
TED Blog | More RSS Options
Sean Park
I was fortunate to have listened to and briefly meet Ashraf at TED in Oxford. I remember his vivid and passionate vision and was impressed even though I didn’t agree with all of his positions and ideas, overall I thought he had a pragmatic and refreshing (in the context of multi-lateral institutions) attitude. So I’d vote for him. Then again I don’t think I’m the demographic he will need to win over to get the job…but for what it is worth “Good luck!”