'Promises should be made for the keeping': excerpt from Mr. Ban Ki-moon's address on his appointment as Secretary-General of the United Nations, on 13 October 2006.

I STAND BEFORE YOU, DEEPLY TOUCHED and inspired by your generous words of congratulations and encouragement. With boundless gratitude for the confidence placed in me by the Member States, and with an unswerving resolve to honour that trust, I humbly accept the appointment as the eighth Secretary-General of this great Organization, our United Nations. I wish to extend my deepest respect and appreciation to all the leaders and peoples of the Member States for their strong support.

I follow in a line of remarkable leaders. They had also faced this moment, each at a critical juncture in the Organization's history. Like myself today, they must have pondered what the years ahead would hold at the helm of this dynamic institution. Each made important and lasting contributions to our common enterprise in upholding humanity's deepest values and highest aspirations.

In particular, you Mr. Secretary-General (Kofi Annan) have astutely guided our Organization into the twenty-first century. You have defined an ambitious agenda that has made the UN truly indispensable to peace, prosperity and human dignity around the world. Our debt to your courage and vision is immeasurable. I resolve to build upon your legacy.

By completing the appointment of the next Secretary-General with such alacrity, you have opened an unprecedented opportunity. Never before has an incoming Secretary-General been given sufficient time to prepare. You have given me more than two months. I will use these weeks to consult widely on how best to proceed with our common agenda of reform and revitalization. I will listen attentively to your concerns, expectations and admonitions.

I am deeply honoured to become the second Asian to lead the Organization, following U Thant, who ably served the world four decades ago. It is quite fitting that you have now turned to Asia again for the next Secretary-General to guide the UN system through its seventh decade. Asia is dynamic and diverse, and Asia aspires to take on greater responsibilities for the world. Having come so far and rising still, the region is living and shaping the full range of achievements and challenges of our current times. Asia is also a region where modesty is a virtue. But the modesty is about demeanour, not about vision and goals. It does not mean a lack of commitment or leadership. Rather, it is quiet determination in action to get things done without so much fanfare. This maybe the key to Asia's success, and to the UN...