Portuguese gov't to nominate Antonio Guterres as UN chief
Xinhua, January 23, 2016 Adjust font size:
The Portuguese government will nominate former Socialist prime minister Antonio Guterres as a candidate for the United Nations' new secretary-general position, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The statement said Guterres is "the personality with better conditions to exercise this mandate, corresponding to the need to address the challenges currently facing the international community."
"His long political experience and the exemplary way he held senior international positions fully demonstrate the merits of this application, which the government considers constitute an imperative, at a time when, more than any other before, the world would have to mobilize around peace and development," it said.
Guterres, 66, finished his second term as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the end of December last year after 10 years in the position.
He was Portuguese prime minister between 1995 and 2002 and president of the worldwide political organization Socialist International from 1999 to 2005.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave his post at the end of this year after having served two terms. Endit