Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been nominated to head the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee, the IOC said Thursday.

According to the IOC’s press release, Ban has been proposed as the new chair of the Ethics Commission. The 73-year-old will be put up for vote to the full membership at an IOC session in Lima, Peru, on Sept. 22.


If approved, Ban will replace the current chair of the ethics body, Youssoupha Ndiaye, formerly the president of the constitutional court of Senegal.

IOC President Thomas Bach said that Ban “has an exemplary record of public service with integrity, accountability and transparency,” calling him a “great friend of the Olympic movement.”

Ban, formerly foreign minister of South Korea, served as the eighth UN secretary-general from January 2007 to December 2016.

“I am deeply honored to be nominated as the chair of the IOC’s Ethics Commission and accept the position with a sense of humility and responsibility,” said Ban.

“The United Nations and the International Olympic Committee have had a close working relationship over many years with both organizations contributing to building a peaceful and better world.”

“In working closely under the principles of the IOC movement, I will do my best to enhance the accountability and transparency of the IOC,” he added.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com)