2007年VOA标准英语-New UN Leader Appoints Deputy, Asks Senior Offi

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
05 January 2007

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has named Tanzania's Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro as his deputy.  As VOA's Peter Heinlein reports from the U.N. Mr. Ban is also asking 60 top officials to turn in their resignations.

New UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gives a news conference at UN headquarters, 2 Jan 2007

Secretary-General Ban signaled Friday that he will move swiftly to revamp the U.N. bureaucracy. He sent letters to 60 senior officials holding the title of assistant secretary-general or undersecretary-general, calling on them to submit letters of resignation.

He also chose Tanzania's Foreign Minister Asha-Rose Migiro to be deputy secretary-general.  In her new post, Migiro will be responsible for much of the management and administrative¹ restructuring of the U.N.

The Migiro, 50, is a former law lecturer.  Before becoming foreign minister last year, she served five years as Tanzania' minister of community development, gender² and children's issues.

Mr. Ban released a statement calling Migiro a highly-respected leader who has championed the cause of developing countries over the years.

Secretary-General Ban indicated earlier he would name a woman from the developing world as his deputy. But U.N. spokesman Michele Montas says neither gender nor geography was the deciding factor.

"The secretary-general underlined to me that he has worked with her, and he underlined the fact that she was not named because she's an African or because she's a woman, but essentially³ because of her qualifications," he said.

African Union Secretary-General and fellow Tanzanian Salim Ahmed Salim, welcomed the appointment. He called Migiro a skilled and articulate diplomat⁴. "She's been one of those who's been an activist⁵ in the political situation in Tanzania, and an activist basically in the struggle for human rights in the continent," he noted⁶.  "So certainly I welcome her appointment, not simply because I'm a Tanzanian like her, but because I know she can do the job."

Officials say Migiro was in Lesotho chairing a conference Friday when she received Mr. Ban's call offering her the world body's number two job.

She is expected to arrive in New York later this month at a time of upheaval⁷ in the U.N. senior management structure. Spokesman Michele Montas says many of those Secretary-General Ban asked to submit resignations may later be asked to stay on.

"This would allow the secretary-general the flexibility⁸ he needs in forming his new team," he added.  "He will review the offers of resignation, and may decide to retain the services of some senior officials to assist him in the discharge of his responsibilities."

Montas also announced Friday that Secretary-General Ban will make public a full disclosure of his finances.  All senior U.N. staff are required to submit financial disclosure statements, but the secretary-general is not considered a member of the staff, and former chief Kofi Annan had caused a stir when he refused to make his disclosure public.

1 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。