António Guterres appointed Secretary-General of the UN
Press release 191/2016
13 October 2015
The UN General Assembly has appointed Portuguese António Guterres as the organisation’s next Secretary-General for the term 2017–2021. Guterres will assume his new position on 1 January 2017.
The Security Council agreed after an internal vote to endorse Guterres for the position of Secretary-General. The General Assembly approved the appointment by its resolution of 13 October 2016.
António Guterres has extensive experience of the UN having served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015) as well as of politics as a former prime minister of Portugal. As High Commissioner for Refugees, Guterres enjoyed great confidence among the UN member states.
“Finland’s primary goal was to have a strong and competent Secretary-General. With Guterres’ appointment, this goal has now been achieved. Aside from competence, Finland has emphasised the need for women candidates. However, more important than the gender of the new secretary is how effectively he will be able to promote gender equality in all UN operations. We expect that under Guterres the percentage of women in top UN positions will increase,” says Foreign Minister Timo Soini.
“All in all, the selection process was more transparent than before, something that Finland has also worked for. The hearings organised by the UN General Assembly and the series of straw polls in the Security Council clearly demonstrated right from the beginning that Gutteres was the strongest of the candidates. Given the circumstances, the Security Council also showed rare and welcome unity. It’s important for the future Secretary-General to enjoy the confidence of all the member states,” Soini continues.
While the member states in the General Assembly and the Security Council play the key roles in the UN, the Secretary-General also wields considerable powers. The member states, including Finland, expect the new Secretary-General to influence the workings of the Security Council, mediate in crises and reform the UN.
Inquiries: Lasse Keisalo, tel. +358 50 467 0660, and Anni Salmia, tel. +358 50 377 9480, Unit for UN and General Global Affairs.
The Foreign Ministry e-mail address format is: [email protected]