By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, August 23, updated -- Citing the five year mobility rule of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Ban's fellow South Korea Choi Soon-hong is set to leave his Chief Information Technology Officer post at the UN. They are taking resumes for his replacement until September 17. Sources tell Inner City Press Choi asked for a six month extension but was offered only three; he has decided to leave. Inner City Press asked about this at Thursday's noon briefing. Meanwhile in Geneva another native of South Korea, deputy High Commission for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang, is also set to go. On this, resumes are being accepted until October 15. And so insiders tell Inner City Press, there must be a South Korea Under Secretary General in the works, since two Assistant Secretaries General are leaving.
There is only one high profile USG post left at UN Headquarters, the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management post currently held by a Belgian "acting" director Jean-Jacques Graisse who, as first reported by Inner City Press, was the one who brought Ban's current chief of staff Susana Malcorra into the World Food Program. Graisse's UN "Biographical Note" states that "Mr. Graisse’s most recent position was as Senior Deputy Executive Director responsible for the World Food Program’s (WFP) multibillion-dollar emergency, development and logistics operations around the world." Unstated but significant is that after Graisse took over in January 2004 as "Senior Deputy Executive Director (Operations Department)," in July 2004 he brought into WFP as Deputy Executive Director (Administration) Susana Malcorra. He was named as "acting" head of DGACM rather than the position going on an interim basis to Franz Baumann. Other ascribed this to staff complaints against Baumann and austerity; others to the fact that Baumann is a candidate for this USG post. But given recent moves, the sources say, watch for a South Korean native to get this post, combined with the Protocol post, a triple play or even clean sweep. Another asked, perhaps connected, all this to upgrade Kim Won-soo to USG?
For DGACM, resumes are accepted through September 10. Inner City Press weeks ago asked the UN to state if Malcorra recused herself from the process by which Graise was put in at DGACM. So far, no answer.
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