UN General Assembly appoints Antonio Guterres as new Secretary-General

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
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Incoming United nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be the 10th to get appointed to the post and the fifth from Western Europe since the UN was formed in October 24, 1945. Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in Portuguese government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. Photo credit-Wikipedia.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 13 — The UN General Assembly is scheduled to appoint Antonio Guterres as next UN Secretary-General on Thursday to replace the retiring Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, 2017.

According to a letter sent by General Assembly President Peter Thomson on Tuesday, the date for the appointment has been set for Oct. 13 at 10:00 a.m. (1400 GMT) at UN headquarters.

The term of office for Guterres will start on Jan. 1, 2017 and end on Dec. 31, 2021, said the letter.

Thomson will also convene an informal plenary meeting of the 193-member General Assembly with the secretary-general-designate on Oct. 19, according to the letter.

On Thursday, the UN Security Council formally and unanimously recommended the appointment of Guterres to the UN GA as the next secretary-general.

The UN Charter provides that the UN Secretary-General be appointed by the General Assembly only with the recommendation of the Security Council.

In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Guterres, aged 67, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015.

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Outgoing United Nations ninth Secretary-General Bank Ki-Moon. He is set to re-enter South Korean politics and may run in the 19th South Korean presidential election which is scheduled to be held on 20 December 2017. Photo credit-Wikipedia.

Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in Portuguese government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Guterres will be the 10th Secretary-General and the fifth from Western Europe since the UN was formed in October 24, 1945.

Outgoing Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will re-enter South Korean politics. He is set to run in the 19th South Korean presidential election which is scheduled to be held on 20 December 2017.

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