(CNN) Here's a look at the life of Ban Ki-moon , former secretary-general of the United Nations .

Personal

Birth date: June 13,1944

Birth place: Chunchongbuk-do Umsong, Republic of Korea

Birth name: Ban Ki-moon

Parents: Names unavailable publicly

Marriage: Yoo Soon-taek (1971-present)

Children: Hyun-hee, Woo-hyun and Seon-yong

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 a teen, he won a Red Cross-sponsored trip to the United States. 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 United Nations.

1987-1990 - Consul General, South Korean Embassy to the US in Washington, DC.

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 - Chef de Cabinet during the South Korean presidency of the UN General Assembly.

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 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-December 31, 2016 - Serves as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations.

March 22, 2007 - Makes an unannounced visit to Baghdad, Iraq, to meet with Makes an unannounced visit to Baghdad, Iraq, to meet with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki . During a live news conference with 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 the UN compound in Gaza City which was destroyed by an Israeli bomb.

June 21, 2011 - Ban is appointed to a Ban is appointed to a second term as UN secretary-general, by acclamation.

December 9, 2011 - Ban pays an unannounced visit to Mogadishu, the first time a UN chief has visited Ban pays an unannounced visit to Mogadishu, the first time a UN chief has visited Somalia in nearly 20 years.

April 30, 2012 - Addresses Addresses Myanmar 's Parliament, becoming the first foreigner to do so since military rule began in 1962.

August 29-31, 2012 - Visits Tehran, Visits Tehran, Iran , for the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.

January 2014 - Invites Iran to attend the Geneva Conference on Invites Iran to attend the Geneva Conference on Syria . The Syrian opposition threatens not to attend the meeting if Iran takes part. The Iranian invitation is withdrawn.

March 2014 - Meets with members of political parties in Kiev, Meets with members of political parties in Kiev, Ukraine

December 12, 2015 - 195 representatives at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) pledge to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Ban, who has made climate change one of his priorities, 195 representatives at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) pledge to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Ban, who has made climate change one of his priorities, applauds the "Paris Agreement" and says "the work starts tomorrow."

February 20, 2018 - Ban is elected president of the Assembly and chair of the Council of the Ban is elected president of the Assembly and chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute.

April 9, 2018 - Ban is elected chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA).