Antonio Guterres appointed as new UN Secretary-General

Former Socialist Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres has been appointed the next United Nations Secretary-General succeeding the outgoing Secretary-General, South Korean Ban Ki-Moon, who is standing down after two terms.

Antonio Guterres, 67 was appointed to the role of UN chief on Thursday after a unanimous vote by the international body’s 193 member states. He was one of 13 candidates for the position, including seven women.

ALSO READ: Michael Jackson tops Forbes 2016 list of highest-earning dead celebrities | See Full List



Guterres spent a decade as the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, a position which saw him saw him tackling refugee crises across the globe,

The next Secretary-General of the United Nations has pledged to combat terrorism and political populism, to promote gender equality and to seek a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict when he takes over the leadership of the organisation next year.