Former Portuguese PM Antonio Guterres to be New UN Secretary-General

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres will become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, diplomats at the U.N. said on Wednesday.

The U.N. Security Council held another round of secret balloting earlier Wednesday in which the five permanent members' votes were a different color than the rest. None of the five, who can veto any candidate, opposed Guterres.    

In fact the former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees got no unfavorable votes on the entire 15-member council.  The Security Council will vote formally to recommend Guterres to the General Assembly on Thursday, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's U.N. ambassador, told reporters.

The General Assembly has traditionally rubber-stamped recommendations from the council for a new U.N. chief. The decision went against the prevailing wisdom that this time a woman from Eastern Europe would be chosen. There has never been a female secretary-general, nor one from Eastern Europe. 

In the end a West European male got the nod to take over from outgoing Ban Ki-moon. Reports out of South Korea on Wednesday said that Ban would run next year for president of South Korea.

Source : QNA