UN Appoints Ex-Portuguese PM Antonio Guterres as Secretary General

Guterres will replace Ban Ki-moon of South Korea as United Nations Secretary General.

Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres. (Photo: AP)

• The 193-member United Nations General Assembly appointed former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres on Thursday as its ninth secretary-general for five years from 1 January 2017.
• Guterres, 67, will replace Ban Ki-moon of South Korea. Ban will step down at the end of 2016 after serving two terms.
• Guterres was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015.