When George Clooney talks, people tend to listen. (And pant, and swoon…) Luckily, he usually has more to say than some.
With that in mind, the United Nations has selected the Oscar winner to be a U.N. Messenger of Peace, seemingly a natural fit for the Darfur activist.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon announced Clooney's designation on Friday.
"You have seen first-hand the pain experienced by the victims of war and made it your personal mission to help end violence and human suffering," Moon said Friday in lauding Clooney's efforts to raise awareness of the Darfur crisis, which includes the recent HBO documentary Sand and Sorrow, which the actor narrated and executive-produced.
"I am deeply honored to receive this appointment," Clooney said in a statement. "I look forward to working with the United Nations in order to build public support for its critically important work in some of the most difficult, dangerous and dire places in the world."
The Michael Clayton star will promote the U.N.'s peacekeeping efforts in a location that will be assigned to him Jan. 31 at the world body's New York headquarters.
The U.N. finally deployed a peacekeeping force last year to the Darfur region of Sudan, where more than 200,000 people have died as a result of a bloody conflict between the government and rebel tribes.
"Recognized for focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues, Mr. Clooney joins eight other United Nations Messengers of Peace who advocate on behalf of the organization," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
Clooney's fellow Messengers of Peace—high-profile figures from the fields of film, music, art, literature and sports who help raise awareness about the U.N.'s raison d'etre—include Michael Douglas, who reps disarmament and security efforts; cellist Yo-Yo Ma, for youth aid; The Alchemist author Paulo Coelho, for intercultural dialogue; Nobel Peace Prize winner and author Elie Wiesel, for human rights and the Holocaust; and naturalist Jane Goodall, for environmental causes.
(None of which is to be confused with Angelina Jolie's place in the activist food chain as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.)
"Through their public appearances, contacts with the international media and humanitarian work, they expand public understanding of how the United Nations helps to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere," Montas said.
Clooney and Wiesel addressed the U.N. Security Council together in 2006, shortly after the Screen Actors Guild Award nominee and his father, Nick , returned from a trip to Darfur and neighboring Chad to see the devastation firsthand.
Last month, Clooney and his frequent costar and co-activist Don Cheadle received the 2007 Peace Summit Award for their work on behalf of Darfur at the 8th World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome.