The United Nations General Assembly on Friday appointed Antonio Guterres as the UN secretary general for a second term beginning January 1, 2022, days after the powerful Security Council had unanimously recommended his name to the 193-member body for re-election. He was nominated by his homeland, Portugal.
President of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir announced that Guterres has been appointed by acclamation Secretary General of the United Nations for the second term of office beginning on 1 January 2022 and ending on 31 December 2026.
Bozkir then administered the oath of office to 72-year-old Guterres at the podium of the UN General Assembly hall.
On 8 June, the 15-nation council had held a closed meeting where it adopted by acclamation the resolution that recommended Guterres’ name to the General Assembly for a second five-year term as Secretary General.
Taking the oath of office in the General Assembly Hall, Mr. Guterres said he was aware of the immense responsibilities bestowed on him at this critical moment in history.
“We are truly at a crossroads, with consequential choices before us. Paradigms are shifting. Old orthodoxies are being flipped,” he told ambassadors.
“We are writing our own history with the choices we make right now. It can go either way: breakdown and perpetual crisis or breakthrough and prospect of a greener, safer and better future for all. There are reasons to be hopeful.”
Mr Guterres was the sole candidate from the UN’s 193 member states to vie for its top job.
