The General Assembly appointed by acclamation the former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres, as the next United Nations Secretary-General, to succeed Ban Ki-moon when he steps down on 31 December, reported the UN News Center.
He was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015, will assume his new role on January 1, 2017.
Antonio Guterres will assume his new role on January 1, 2017 for a five-year term that can be renewed by Member States for an additional five years.
Guterres had emerged as the front-runner in all the six informal polls conducted in the Council to select the Secretary-General, despite the popularity of his closest competitor – the first woman or the first representative from an Eastern European country.
The secretary-general manages a staff of 44,000 people in addition to more than 100,000 peacekeepers. The position's responsibilities include dealing with issues such as human rights, refugees and climate change as well as fund raising for the world body's various campaigns.
