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UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday appointed Portugal's former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres as next UN secretary-general to succeed retiring Ban Ki-moon whose term expires at the end of this year.
The 193-member General Assembly adopted a resolution on his appointment by acclamation after Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, Security Council president for October, reported to the Assembly on the council's unanimous recommendation of Guterres.
The five-year term for the secretary-general designate will start on Jan. 1, 2017 and end on Dec. 31, 2021.
Guterres, a 67-year-old politician, served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. Before joining the UN refugee agency, Guterres spent more than 20 years in government and public service. He was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002.
On Oct. 6, the UN Security Council formally recommended Guterres to head the world's largest international organization.
The UN Charter says "the secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council."
In practice, the Security Council will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.
Traditionally, for a UN secretary-general, each term is five years with a maximum of two terms.
