United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (back L) and Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (L) watch as Secretary-General-designate Mr. Antonio Guterres of Portugal is sworn in by President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson (R) at UN headquarters in New York, U.S., December 12, 2016. Mr. Guterres, Portugal’s Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002 and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, became the ninth U.N. Secretary-General after he was administered the oath of office by General Assembly President Peter Thomson here on Monday in a special session of the 193-member world body. The former UN High Commissioner for Refugees appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October this year noted that the three strategic priorities for the UN that is working for peace; supporting sustainable development; and reforming its internal management and pledged to personally help broker peace in various conflicts. The first former head of government at the UN helm, Guterres takes over from Ban Ki-moon on January 1 amid ongoing bloodshed in Syria and questions over how the US role in the world chould shift under President-elect Donald Trump. Guterres, 67, performed well in answering questions before assembly members and his executive experience as prime minister and as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005-2015 propelled him to first place among 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy...The scale of the challenges we face requires us to work together on a deep and continued process of UN reform,” Mr. Guterres said after taking the oath of office. And it is time for the United Nations to do the same: to recognise its shortcomings and to reform the way it works,” he said.
Former Prime Minister of Portugal António Guterres is sworn in as the new United Nations Secretary General.