Antonio Guterres elected as new Secretary-General of UN

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has formally elected Antonio Guterres (67) as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In this regard, 193 member states of UN adopted by acclamation a resolution for appointing Antonio Guterres. He will have five-year term beginning January 1, 2017.
He will succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon who has completed two five-year terms as the world’s top diplomat. Earlier in October 2016, Antonio Guterres had won unanimous support from UN Security Council (UNSC).
Who is Antonio Guterres?

• Antonio Guterres is Portuguese politician and diplomat.
• He had entered politics in 1976 during Portugal’s first democratic election after the “Carnation Revolution” which had ended five decades of dictatorship.
• He was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
• He was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from June 2005 to December 2015.
• He led the UNHCR through during one of the world’s worst present refugee crises, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

About Secretary-General of United Nations

• The UN Secretary-General is the head of the United Nations Secretariat. He is de facto spokesperson and leader of the UN.
• The role Secretary-General has been mentioned in Chapter XV (Articles 97 to 101) of UN Charter. The post lasts for five years and is limited to a maximum of two terms.

Summary
The post of Secretary-General of United Nations is not as powerful, but he serves as the UN’s top diplomat and chief administrative officer. He has to run an unwieldy bureaucracy and manage the competing demands of the world’s big powers. His role is to step in both publicly and privately to prevent escalation of international disputes.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016