Antonio has been re-elected as Secretary General of the United Nations for an another tenure of five-years.
The decision of re-election was announced by the President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir. The United Nations Security Council recommended name of Antonio Guterres to the 193-member General Assembly in a closed meeting on June 8.
“Even though we had only one official candidate, the process of selection has not been changed as compared to last time. Now we pass on the torch to the UN General Assembly”, Estonia’s Ambassador to the UN Sven Jurgenson.
Selection Process
The process of selection lies in the UN Assembly itself. He is appointed by the United Nations General Assembly which is based on the recommendations of Security Councils. Every Secretary general has an option of continuous second tenure provided he has sufficient support from the Members State.
“Mr. Guterres was elected after a reformed selection process that included a public informal dialogue session in the General Assembly, involving civil society representatives, aimed at ensuring transparency and inclusivity.”, The Hindu published.
Mr. Guterres, former Portugal Prime Minister is the ninth Secretary General of United Nations Coucil. Guterres took oath as his first Secretary General to hold the office on January 1,2017 and that tenure completes on December 31, 2021. And will further hold his office on January 1, 2022.
Mr. Guterres extended his gratitude to Portugal for re-nomination. In a statement, “Mr. Guterres said it was ‘a great honour’ to be selected, and thanked ambassadors serving on the Security Council for placing their trust in him”, from the UN Press Release.