Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is set to become the next head of the United Nations after he emerged on Wednesday as the favoured candidate among UN Security Council members.
Mr. Guterres, also former head of the UN refugee agency, had been in the lead during five previous straw polls and got no vetoes in the latest poll to find a replacement for South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon.
He got 13 encouraging votes and two abstentions from the 15-member council.
None of the permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia or the U.S. — signaled an intention to cast a veto against Guterres in a formal vote.
“Today, after our sixth straw poll, we have a clear favourite and his name is Antonio Guterres,’’ Vitaly Churkin, Russian ambassador to the UN, told reporters, with ambassadors representing all members of council standing next to him.
The council will take a formal vote later Thursday and will then send its recommendation to the UN General Assembly, which will make the final decision in a vote seen as a formality.
The secretary general oversees all of the operations of the 193-member UN, acting as its chief administrator and top envoy in global trouble spots.
According to Matthew Rycroft, British ambassador to the UN, it is an important day for the Security Council coming together, uniting behind Antonio Guterres.
Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the UN, said that the breakthrough was Mr. Guterres performance and experience.