Antonio Guterres to replace Ban Ki-moon at UN

[waltky]

Antonio Guterres to replace Ban Ki Moon at UN...

Portugal's Antonio Guterres elected UN secretary general
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 - Portugal's ex-Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is formally elected as the next UN secretary general, and will begin his term on 1 January.

Mr Guterres, 67, will become the world's top diplomat on 1 January when Ban Ki-moon's second five-year term ends. The Portuguese, who led the UN refugee agency UNHCR for 10 years, was chosen from among 13 candidates last week. He said he would fulfil his role with gratitude and humility. Mr Guterres, who trained as an engineer, entered politics in 1976 in Portugal's first democratic election after the "Carnation revolution" that ended five decades of dictatorship. As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, he led the agency through some of the world's worst refugee crises, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts.

Mr Guterres' nomination came despite a concerted effort to appoint the UN's first female secretary general. Of the 13 candidates, seven were women, among them Unesco director general Irina Bokova, from Bulgaria, and Helen Clark, 66, a former prime minister of New Zealand and current head of the UN development programme. Mr Guterres told the assembly: "The dramatic problems of today's complex world can only inspire a humble approach. One in which the secretary general alone neither has all the answers, nor seeks to impose his views. "One in which the secretary general makes his good offices available, working as a convenor, a mediator, a bridge-builder and an honest broker to help find the solutions that benefit everyone involved."

Antonio Guterres of Portugal, Secretary-General designate of the United Nations, speaks during his appointment at UN headquarters on 13 October, 2016​

Mr Ban told the assembly that his successor was well-known in diplomatic circles as a man of compassion. "He is perhaps best known where it counts most - on the frontlines of armed conflict and humanitarian suffering," Mr Ban said. "His political instincts are those of the United Nations - co-operation for the common good and shared responsibility for people and the planet."

What does a UN secretary general do?

The Security Council - with five of its members wielding vetos - is the most powerful body in the UN. While not as powerful, the secretary general serves as the organisation's top diplomat and chief "administrative officer". It has been described as the most impossible job in the world, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale. The secretary general has to run an unwieldy bureaucracy and manage the competing demands of the world's big powers, he adds. A key requisite of the role is to step in both publicly and privately to prevent international disputes from escalating. The post lasts for five years and is limited to a maximum of two terms.

Portugal's Antonio Guterres elected UN secretary general - BBC News

 

[Lucy Hamilton]

Antonio Guterres to replace Ban Ki Moon at UN...

Portugal's Antonio Guterres elected UN secretary general
Thu, 13 Oct 2016 - Portugal's ex-Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is formally elected as the next UN secretary general, and will begin his term on 1 January.

Mr Guterres, 67, will become the world's top diplomat on 1 January when Ban Ki-moon's second five-year term ends. The Portuguese, who led the UN refugee agency UNHCR for 10 years, was chosen from among 13 candidates last week. He said he would fulfil his role with gratitude and humility. Mr Guterres, who trained as an engineer, entered politics in 1976 in Portugal's first democratic election after the "Carnation revolution" that ended five decades of dictatorship. As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, he led the agency through some of the world's worst refugee crises, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts.

Mr Guterres' nomination came despite a concerted effort to appoint the UN's first female secretary general. Of the 13 candidates, seven were women, among them Unesco director general Irina Bokova, from Bulgaria, and Helen Clark, 66, a former prime minister of New Zealand and current head of the UN development programme. Mr Guterres told the assembly: "The dramatic problems of today's complex world can only inspire a humble approach. One in which the secretary general alone neither has all the answers, nor seeks to impose his views. "One in which the secretary general makes his good offices available, working as a convenor, a mediator, a bridge-builder and an honest broker to help find the solutions that benefit everyone involved."

Antonio Guterres of Portugal, Secretary-General designate of the United Nations, speaks during his appointment at UN headquarters on 13 October, 2016​

Mr Ban told the assembly that his successor was well-known in diplomatic circles as a man of compassion. "He is perhaps best known where it counts most - on the frontlines of armed conflict and humanitarian suffering," Mr Ban said. "His political instincts are those of the United Nations - co-operation for the common good and shared responsibility for people and the planet."

What does a UN secretary general do?

The Security Council - with five of its members wielding vetos - is the most powerful body in the UN. While not as powerful, the secretary general serves as the organisation's top diplomat and chief "administrative officer". It has been described as the most impossible job in the world, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale. The secretary general has to run an unwieldy bureaucracy and manage the competing demands of the world's big powers, he adds. A key requisite of the role is to step in both publicly and privately to prevent international disputes from escalating. The post lasts for five years and is limited to a maximum of two terms.

Portugal's Antonio Guterres elected UN secretary general - BBC News

He's a full-on Marxist, was President of Socialist International and also spent from 2005-2015 as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, so he's sucked A LOT of Muslim and Sub-Saharan African dicks then.

He's a POS.

António Guterres - Wikipedia

Socialist International - Wikipedia

Fuck the UN.

 

[The Irish Ram]

That's just great. Get ready for more Muslims...

 

[waltky]

Antonio Guterres sworn in as new UN Secretary-General...

UN swears in Guterres as new leader
Wed, Dec 14, 2016 - Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres was on Monday sworn in as the ninth UN secretary-general, pledging to personally help broker peace in various conflicts and reform the 71-year-old world body to become more effective.

Guterres, 67, is to replace Un Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea on Jan. 1. Ban steps down at the end this year after two five-year terms. Guterres was Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to last year. “From the acute crises in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and elsewhere, to long-running disputes including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we need mediation, arbitration, as well as creative diplomacy,” Guterres said. “As part of my good offices I am ready to engage personally in conflict resolution where it brings added value,” he told the 193-member UN General Assembly.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the UN General Assembly after his swearing-in ceremony at the UN in New York​

Guterres beat out 12 other candidates, seven of whom were women, amid a push for the first woman to be elected. He said on Monday that he aimed to have gender parity among senior UN leadership within his five year term. Guterres is expected to name Nigerian Minister of Environment Amina Mohammed as his deputy secretary-general, diplomats said, adding that he is also planning to appoint a woman as his chief of staff before the end of the year. Before her appointment as environment minister a year ago, Mohammed was Ban’s special adviser on post-2015 development planning — a role that culminated last year with the adoption by the General Assembly of sustainable development goals for the next 15 years.

Guterres is the first former head of government to be elected to run the world body and that experience will be reflected in how he operates, diplomats said. “He’s looking for a big shake-up, reshuffle,” said a senior UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He’s looking to create ... a different feeling, with the undersecretary-generals much more part of a collective leadership of the UN.”

UN swears in Guterres as new leader - Taipei Times