Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres is set to become the new United Nations Secretary General. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council (UNSC) informally agreed to select the 67-year-old seasoned diplomat as the new UN chief. According to Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is currently presiding the UNSC, a formal vote will be held on Thursday to recommend Guterres to the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA). During the informal vote, Guterres received 13 “encourage” votes, no “discourage” votes, and two “no opinion” votes. The decision to select Guterres comes despite dozens of nations campaigning for the first female or Eastern European UN chief. However, diplomats say Guterres, who topped all six informal votes, was best suited to lead the UN despite being from Portugal. Who is Guterres? Born in Lisbon in 1949, Guterres is an engineer by trade, having graduated in 1971 from the Instituto Superior Technico with a degree in engineering and physics. Following his graduation, Guterres held the position of assistant professor until 1974, when he joined the Socialist party and entered politics for the first time. Guterres, who is described by many as a fervent Catholic and is…
Who is António Guterres? Meet the New United Nations Secretary General
October 6, 2016
