Slovenian ex-president Turk bids for UN Secretary-General

Former Slovenian president Danilo Turk won on Thursday the approval of the cabinet to bid for the 2017-2021 post of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Turk will have "adequate support" from the government during his candidacy for the top post of the United Nations, the Slovenian Government Communication Office said in a press release. Turk, born in February 1952, served as Slovenia's ambassador between 1992 and 2000, and then as UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs from 2000 to 2005. He became president of Slovenia in December 2007, and held the presidency until the end of 2012. Under the UN Charter, candidates for UN Secretary-General are put forward by geographical groups rather than individual countries. The United Nations consists of five regional groups -- Western European and Others, East European Group, Latin American and Caribbean Group, Asia-Pacific Group, and African Group. Unlike its counterparts that has at least one person elected as UN Secretary-General since the founding of the United Nations in October 1945, East European group has never had a Secretary-General in the global body before. The incumbent UN Secretary-General is Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who took office on 1 January 2007. His second five-year term is due to expire on December 31, 2016. UN Secretary-General serves for five-year term that can be renewed indefinitely, although none so far has held office for more than two terms.