Ban Ki-moon was the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 2007 to December 2016. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 37 years. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade at the time of his election as Secretary-General as the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon´s priorities were to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. Ban has also taken major efforts to strengthen UN peace operations, protect human rights, improve humanitarian response, prevent violent extremism, and revitalize the disarmament agenda.