Kang Kyung-wha

Kang Kyung-wha

Kyung-wha in 2017
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assumed office
18 June 2017
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon
Preceded by Yun Byung-se
Personal details
Born (1955-04-07) 7 April 1955
Seoul, South Korea
Political party Korean Democratic
Alma mater Yonsei University
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Korean name
Hangul 강경화
Hanja 康京和
Revised Romanization Gang Gyeong-hwa
McCune–Reischauer Kang Kyŏng'hwa

Kang Kyung-wha is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, the first woman appointed to the position.[1][2] Prior to her current appointment, Kang was Director-General of International Organization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea.

Early life and education

Kang graduated from Yonsei University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Diplomacy.[3] She obtained her M.A. and Ph.D in International/Intercultural Communication from University of Massachusetts Amherst, United States.[4]

Career

In the beginning of her career, she worked as a producer for the Seoul-based Korean Broadcasting System[5] and lectured at universities in South Korea and the United States.[3]

In 1998, she joined the Korean Foreign Service.[3] Prior to that, she worked for the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea[5] on global issues in the fields of human rights, women's advancement and parliamentary diplomacy.

From September 2001 to July 2005, Kang was Minister at the Republic of Korea Mission to the United Nations.[3] During that time, she served as chairwoman of the Commission on the Status of Women for its 48th and 49th session.[4]

She was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in March 2013.[3] Previous to this position, she served as the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, appointed by Kofi Annan in September 2006.[4]

Personal life

She is married to Yillbyung Lee of Yonsei University and has three children: two daughters and a son.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lee, Jiyeun (June 18, 2017). "South Korea's Moon Appoints First Female Foreign Minister". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ Min-kyung, Jung (June 6, 2017), "Foreign Minister prospects darken", Korea Herald, retrieved June 6, 2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Secretary-General Appoints Kyung-wha Kang of Republic of Korea Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs". United Nations. March 18, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Secretary-General appoints Kyung-wha Kang of Republic of Korea Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights". United Nations. September 18, 2006.
  5. 1 2 "Minister of Foreign Affairs - Kang Kyung-wha". Minister of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2017.

Media related to Kang Kyung-wha at Wikimedia Commons


Political offices
Preceded by
Yun Byung-se		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
2017–present 		Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.