Antonio Guterres has been sworn in as the United Nations Secretary-General.
Gatekeepers News reports that Guterres was re-elected unanimously by the 193-member United Nations General Assembly for a second five-year term.
Assembly President Volkan Bozkir announced Guterres’ re-election by “acclamation”, without a vote.
The 72-year-old Portuguese on Friday said he was “humbled and energised” by the support, adding that the “driving theme” of his second term will be “prevention in all its aspects – from conflicts, climate change, pandemics to poverty and inequality”.
“I will give it my all to ensure the blossoming of trust between and among nations large and small, to build bridges, and to engage relentlessly in confidence building,” Guterres told the General Assembly after taking the oath of office.
Guterres, whose second term will officially start on January 1, 2022, took over from Ban Ki-moon in January 2017.
Gatekeepers News reports that he was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, he has championed climate action, COVID-19 vaccines for all and digital cooperation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have welcomed the reappointment of the UN chief.
Blinken described Guterres as a “results-oriented” and “capable leader in a demanding role”.
The US “looks forward to continuing our strong and constructive relationship … as we advance the urgent task of bringing about a more peaceful world and prosperous future,” Blinken said. “The United Nations is an indispensable anchor of the multilateral system” where nations work together “to meet such unprecedented challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, human rights, development, migration, and humanitarian crises”.
On her part, Merkel hailed Guterres’s commitment to peaceful solutions to conflicts, climate protection and “innovative solutions to global problems” in his first term and thanked him for helping set up the COVAX facility to get COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries.
“The coronavirus pandemic, in particular, has shown us that the United Nations’ ability to react quickly to current challenges is essential,” she said.
