Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits San Francisco
Marks 62nd anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter
Secretary-General speaks at the Herbst where the signing of the UN Charter took place
I feel honoured and very humbled when I think of all our founding fathers wise enough and courageous enough to save this world from the scourge of war who have negotiated, drafted and finally signed the Charter of the United Nations, which has shaped the future of the whole international community.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in remarks at
San Francisco War Memorial, 26 July 2007
• Secretary-General addresses World Affairs Council of San Francisco
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from right), accompanied by his wife Yoo Soon-taek (left), accepts the key to the city from the Mayor of San Francisco on the stage of the Herbst Theater where the Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) is greeted by Liv Patterson, 90, in the town of Novato, California. In 1962, when Mr. Ban was in the US as an exchange student on his first trip abroad, Ms. Patterson hosted him in her house. At far left are Mrs. Patterson’s daughter and her husband.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) with Liv Patterson, who hosted him during his student days, at her house in the town on Navato, California.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon takes a tour of the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at joint press conference with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, San José.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the city of San Francisco, during a tour of the Ferry Building Marketplace.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on his way to the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon speaks on the stage of the Herbst Theater where the Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945. Left to right: Mr. Ban, William Luers, President of the UN Association of the USA (UNA-USA); Charlett Shultz, and Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the city of San Francisco.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon speaks to the press after visiting a visiting the home of Liv Patterson, who hosted him when he was an exchange student in 1962.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks at a Town Hall meeting organized by the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, California.
• Secretary-General journeys to San Francisco, site of first overseas visit | Radio report
Memory lane
For Ban Ki-moon, the San Francisco trip brought back special memories from his 1962 visit to the city. He later described his impressions in an article.
A page from UN history
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the UN Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, Soviet Union, UK and USA at Dumbarton Oaks, US, in August-October 1944. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 member states.
I feel honoured and very humbled when I think of all our founding fathers wise enough and courageous enough to save this world from the scourge of war who have negotiated, drafted and finally signed the Charter of the United Nations, which has shaped the future of the whole international community.
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the UN Conference on International Organization to draw up the 
