Looks Like We've Got a New UN Chief

Set to become secretary general when vote is formalized: former Portugal PM Antonio Guterres
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 5, 2016 11:25 AM CDT
Looks Like We've Got a New UN Chief
Antonio Guterres, the former UN high commissioner for refugees and former Portuguese PM, on April 12, 2016.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

He once served as Portugal's prime minister, and now Antonio Guterres is set to serve as the United Nations' secretary-general, the BBC reports. As Reuters reports, the UN Security Council's 15 members had to vote for all 10 candidates, with each secret ballot they cast signifying an "encourage," "discourage," or "no opinion" vote. Guterres' votes were all of the "encourage" variety, save two "no opinion" votes. "Today after our sixth straw poll we have a clear favorite, and his name is Antonio Guterres," Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who's October's council president, told reporters Wednesday. For the vote to officially be ready to go before the 193-member General Assembly, the Security Council has to pass a resolution—which would need nine yeses and no vetoes—in a separate meeting, which it hopes to hold Thursday. Guterres would take over from Ban Ki-Moon in early 2017. (More United Nations stories.)

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