Glenn Reynolds suggests that former Czech President Vaclav Havel replace Kofi Annan at the UN. Vaclav Havel is quite possibly one of the greatest figures of the 20th Century. He has been a tireless campaigner for human liberty across the globe, and is one of the figures most responsible for what was then Czechoslovakia transitioning from a puppet state of Moscow to a nascent democracy in the Czech Republic.
If he would take such an arduous job, he would be one of the few who could restore what remains of the United Nation’s moral authority and transform it from a debating club for despots to a true force for democracy and human rights.
This would be awesome. I doubt that he could overcome the inertia towards corruption that has left the UN toothless and irrelevant. But if anyone could do some good there, Havel might be the guy. Excellent idea.
My own dream would be to see Bill Clinton in that post, but it’s more likely an American would become Pope before an American would become Secretary General, even an American as popular abroad as Clinton. So, barring him, Havel would be great.