The Socialist former prime minister of Portugal has been chosen as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations – taking over at a time when the world is rocked by terrorism, reeling from the refugee crisis, and struggling to resolve the war in Syria.
On Wednesday morning the 15 members of the Security Council held their sixth “straw poll” to decide the future leader. Thirteen countries encouraged his candidacy and none discouraged it – making him the clear winner of a process which began publicly in April.
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday unanimously nominated former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres to be the next Secretary-General, recommending that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for five years from January 1, 2017.
The General Assembly is likely to meet next week to approve the appointment of Guterres, 67, who would replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea. Ban will step down at the end of 2016 after serving two terms.
Who is Antonio Guterres?
Guterres, a trained engineer who worked as an assistant professor before entering politics in 1974, led his country from 1995 to 2002 as head of the Socialist Party.
From 2005 to 2015, he served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He is credited with cutting costs at the agency during his tenure, as well as lifting its performance as it grappled with the migrant crisis. During his tenure, Guterres oversaw the most profound structural reform process in UNHCR’s history and built up our organisation’s capacity to respond to some of the largest displacement crises since the end of World War II. In his role, he has faced the challenge of providing assistance for more than 65m displaced people around the world most recently, he has been working to secure aid for the refugees of the Syria civil war.
A practicing Catholic, Guterres remarried after his first wife died of cancer, and has two children.
In Guterres' vision statement in applying for the position, he wrote of the challenges facing the world in terms of rising inequality, terrorism and organised crime, climate change and the proliferation of armed actors internationally.
He wrote that the UN was "uniquely placed to connect the dots to overcome these challenges," but that change and reform was needed.
"People in need of protection are not getting enough. The most vulnerable, such as women and children, are an absolute priority. We must make sure that when someone sees the Blue Flag, she or he can say: 'I am protected'."
Speaking to reporters in Lisbon, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he had congratulated Guterres.
"It is great for the United Nations because the best one was elected, and we many times have the feeling internationally that because of imbalances, weights and counterweights, not always the best is chosen. Here the best one was chosen," he said.
"This is very good for the world, very good for the United Nations, and it is very good for Portugal."
How is he appointed?
The 15-member Security Council cast secret ballots for each of the 10 candidates on Wednesday and none were found to oppose Guterres. They were asked to select from a choice of 'encourage', 'discourage' or 'no opinion' for each candidate, with the former Portuguese prime minister receiving 13 'encourage' votes and two 'no opinion' votes.
He beat nine other candidates, including EU budget commissioner Kristalina Georgieva from Bulgaria, to become the next UN chief.
How has the world reacted?
The ambassadors to the UN for the US and the UK -- both veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, along with Russia, China and France -- welcomed the result.
Russia's ambassador and current head of the UN Security Council, Vitaly Churkin, said all the candidates had "a lot of wisdom, understanding and concern for the fate of the world," but "we have a clear favourite, and his name is Antonio Guterres".
Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said that "in the end there was just a candidate whose experience, vision and versatility across a range of areas proved compelling. People united around a person who has impressed throughout the process and has impressed across multiple axes in his service in Portuguese politics and at the helm of UNHCR."
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Matthew Rycroft, the UK's ambassador to the UN, paid tribute to the seven women who had run for the role.
While it was "high time" for a woman secretary-general, he said, "it's fair to say that Antonio Guterres has come through this new and improved and more transparent process at the top of the league of the thirteen who competed."
He said the world needed a strong secretary-general who would "provide a convening power and a moral authority at a time when the world is divided on issues, above all like Syria." "And I think that Antonio Guterres has demonstrated at the hearings and throughout this process that he is the person to do that."
There was some disappointment among campaigners who had hoped for a first female secretary general, or a candidate from Eastern Europe - which has never held the position.
Will Guterres matter?
A key qualification of Guterres is his skill for public outreach — his ability to make a case for refugees and the need to assist refugees that grabs the attention of the world. Public advocacy isn’t the strong suit of Ban, a soft-spoken diplomat who chooses his words carefully and is, to his critics, far too hesitant to criticise major powers like Washington and Moscow.
This is especially important because the UN secretary general doesn’t have much in the way of formal powers. It’s an important sounding post — leader of the UN. But in truth, that control extends to a few UN agencies, which command budgets tiny in comparison to those of most individual countries.
The true power of a secretary general rests in perception: The sense of legitimacy that comes from being in charge of the world’s largest and most famous international organisation. This sense of speaking for the world confers a level of notoriety and moral authority; a canny secretary general can leverage that to broker negotiations or spearhead major new humanitarian initiatives.
It’s not clear if Guterres, no matter how charming or compelling he may be, will be able to persuade anyone to act differently. That’s especially true since the secretary general can’t pick sides in a conflict where the permanent members of the UN Security Council are divided.
Source: Telegraph, BBC, CNN, Vox
