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UN General Assembly elects Guterres as secretary general
Antonio Guterres – former prime minister of Portugal and UN refugee chief until last December – was elected by acclamation by the United Nations’ general assembly
13 October 2016, 5:02pm
Paul Cocks
Paul Cocks
1 min read
Antonio Guterres was elected UN secretary general by acclamation
The 193 United Nations member states have elected Portugal’s former prime minister Antonio Guterres by acclamation as the next secretary general of the UN.
Assembly president Peter Thompson introduced the resolution, said members wanted it approved by acclamation, and banged his gavel in approval as diplomats broke into applause.
The 67-year-old Guterres, who served as the UN refugee chief for 10 years until last December, will take up the job of the world’s top diplomat on 1 January, when Ban Ki-moon’s second five-year term ends.
The Security Council nominated Guterres by acclamation last week after its sixth informal poll.
Guterres topped all six polls, which included a total of 13 candidates - seven women and six men.
Paul Cocks joined MaltaToday after having spent years working in newspapers with The Times...
