Ban Ki-moon - Fast Facts - CNN.com (CNN) -- Here's a look at the life of Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General. Personal: Birth date: June 13, 1944 Birth place: Chunchongbuk-do Umsong, Republic of Korea Birth name: Ban Ki-moon Father: Unknown Mother: Unknown Marriage: Yoo Soon-taek (1971 - present) Children: One son and two daughters Education: Seoul National University, B.A., 1970; Harvard University, M.A., 1985 Other Facts: Name is pronounced Bahn Gi-moon, with the K uttered as a hard "g." As with many East Asian countries, the first name is actually the last name. Therefore he is referred to as Mr. Ban. As a teen, he won a Red Cross sponsored trip to the U.S. He met President John F. Kennedy, and decided then that he wanted to become a diplomat. Timeline: 1970 - Passes the South Korean Foreign Service exam. 1972-1974 - Vice-consul, South Korean Consulate General in India 1974-1978 - Second Secretary, South Korean Embassy in India. 1978-1980 - Secretary, South Korean Permanent Observer Mission to the UN. 1987-1990 - Consul General, South Korean Embassy to the US in Washington D.C. 1992-1995 - Minister, South Korean Embassy to the US. 1996 - National Security Adviser to South Korean President Kim Young-sam. 1998-2000 - South Korean Ambassador to Austria. 1999 - Chairman of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. 2001-2002 - South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations. 2003 - Foreign Policy Adviser to the South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. January 2004 - Appointed South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. February 14, 2006 - Officially declares his candidacy for secretary general. October 9, 2006 - Formally nominated by the United Nations Security Council to be the next secretary general, replacing Kofi Annan. October 13, 2006 - Appointed by the UN General Assembly. January 1, 2007 - Ban takes office as the eighth Secretary General of the United Nations. March 22, 2007 - Makes an unannounced visit to Baghdad, Iraq to meet with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. During a live news conference with al-Maliki in Baghdad's Green Zone, a rocket hits just outside the room and Ban is visibly startled though unhurt. January 20, 2009 - Tours the burned out ruins of UN compound in Gaza City which was destroyed by an Israeli bomb. June 7, 2011 - President Barack Obama endorses Ban's run for re-election as Secretary General. June 21, 2011 - Ban is appointed to a second term as UN Secretary General, by acclamation. December 9, 2011 - Ban pays an unannounced visit to Mogadishu, Somalia, the first time a UN chief has visited Somalia in nearly 20 years. April 30, 2012 - Addresses Myanmar's Parliament, becoming the first foreigner to do so since military rule began in 1962. November 30, 2012 - Ban accidentally tweets that he supports a one-state solution between Israel and Palestine. The tweet is later taken down and corrected to reflect his support of a two-state solution.