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1st LD: UN Security Council decides to recommend Antonio Guterres to be next UN chief

Xinhua, October 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Security Council on Thursday formally decided to recommend Antonio Guterres to head the United Nations for the next five years.

The 15-nation council made the decision in an adopted resolution to recommend Guterres to the General Assembly be appointed as UN secretary-general for a term of office from Jan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2021, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who is the council president for October, told reporters here after a closed council meeting.

Guterres served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.

Under the UN Charter, the UN Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the Security Council, particularly its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.

Guterres is to succeed incumbent UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose term at the helm of the UN expires on Dec. 31. Endit