Portugal's António Guterres selected as next UN secretary-general
The 15 members of the United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed Wednesday that former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres will be the U.N.'s next secretary-general. The council will hold a formal vote Thursday morning to confirm Guterres, who Russian U.N. ambassador Vitaly Churkin said was a "clear favorite" among council members.
Guterres served as the U.N.'s high commissioner for refugees for a decade, where he consistently advocated for refugees throughout his tenure; he left that post in December 2015. He has already "vowed to carry on being a spokesman for the downtrodden if he became U.N. secretary-general," The Guardian reported. "You can't imagine what it is to see levels of suffering that are unimaginable," Guterres said last summer.
Guterres was up against nine other candidates, including European Commission vice president Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, who would have been the first woman to be secretary-general. If the 193 members of the General Assembly approve him, Guterres will replace current secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the beginning of next year.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Why would anyone look to the United States as a model?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Kristi Noem and the politics of puppy killing
Talking Point Revelations in Republican's upcoming memoir may have doomed her political career
By The Week UK Published
-
Death toll in Brazil flooding tops 100
Speed Read The record rainfall is linked to El Niño, which has been exacerbated by climate change
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published