Former Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Guterres elected by UN general assembly as new secretary-general
Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has been elected as the new United Nations secretary-general by the UN General Assembly.
The decision was widely expected, after none of the five UN Security Council veto powers — China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US — voted against him in a secret ballot last week.
Guterres, a former UN refugee chief, will replace Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who is due to step down at the end of 2016 after two five-year terms.
Ban Ki-moon warmly congratulates Antonio Guterres on his election as the 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations. pic.twitter.com/x6yNRp3o0w
— UN Spokesperson (@UN_Spokesperson) October 13, 2016
After last week's secret ballot, Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that a straw poll had revealed a "clear favourite" – Guterres.
"We have decided to go to a formal vote… and we hope it can be done by acclamation," said Churkin, who is council president for October.
The UN Security Council must adopt a resolution – which needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes to pass – behind closed doors before it can recommend a candidate to the 193-member General Assembly for election.