UN Security Council formally recommends Antonio Guterres as UN chief
NAN-F-11
Security
New York, Oct. 6, 2016 (dpa/NAN) The UN Security Council formally endorsed former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres to serve as the next UN Secretary-General in a resolution passed by consensus on Thursday.
The official nomination, which now needs to be approved by the UN General Assembly, comes one day after the 15-member council agreed in a secret straw poll.
Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the UN and current president of the council said that the assembly voted that Guterres was its favourite for the top UN post from a field of 13 candidates.
“The Security Council recommends to the General Assembly that Guterres should be appointed as the Secretary-General of the UN for a term of office from Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2021,’’ he said.
Matthew Rycroft, British Ambassador to the UN, before the council’s meeting said “Guterres won this race because he was the best candidate in this race.
Guterres will succeed current Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, whose term at the helm of the UN will end this year after 10 years.(dpa/NAN)
(Edited by Damilola Oyewole, controlled by Julius Enehikhuere)