There’s a famous anecdote, involving something similar, from our own nation’s history, though it’s from the era when we didn’t have “official” names.

Ulysses Simpson Grant was actually born Hiram Ulysses Grant, and never legally changed his name. As a boy, he was known as “Lys” by his friends and family. When he and his father were discussing his West Point appointment, they decided to reverse Hiram and Ulysses–after all, Hiram wasn’t ever used, anyway. Grant’s father told their local Congressman about this, and when the Congressman was filling out the paperwork sending Grant to West Point, he remembered that Ulysses was supposed to be the boy’s first name, but he couldn’t recall the other one. Since he knew the family, he chose Grant’s mother’s maiden name, Simpson, for the middle one. When Grant arrived at West Point, he found that his name was entered as Ulysses Simpson Grant, so he entered the Academy with that name. As a side note, an upperclassman noted his initials, and nicknamed him “Uncle Sam” Grant. For the rest of his life, close friends called him Sam. Regardless, even when he was Commander-in-Chief of the army and then President of the United States, he never bothered to change his name back to what it had been.

I’m not precisely sure why the official’s age should be a subject of such controversy. I suppose if he’s actually 61 and needs to retire next year, it’s controversial that he would be allowed to retain his office for an additional nine years. It does speak to some sloppy record-keeping, but what if all that happened was that someone, years ago when he joined the U.N., got his birthdate wrong? Perhaps he just discovered the discrepancy recently. Can’t you imagine someone signing forms for years without reading the part where it states his birthday? I can: it’s the sort of thing you don’t look at carefully on a form.