NEW YORK ¨C The General Assembly last week appointed by acclamation Antonio Guterres, former prime minister of Portugal, as the new United Nations secretary-general, replacing the outgoing Ban Ki-moon for a five-year term beginning in January. The appointment followed a recommendation from the powerful Security Council, which chose Guterres after six rounds of straw polls conducted since July.

Guterres received 13 ¡°encourages,¡± no ¡°discourages¡± and two ¡°no opinions¡± at the sixth straw poll held Oct. 5, during which color-coded ballot papers distinguishing five veto-wielding permanent members ¡ª China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States ¡ª from the 10 elected members of the council were introduced for the first time in this year¡¯s selection process. He was confirmed as the council¡¯s choice the next day when a resolution recommending him to the General Assembly as the next U.N. chief was adopted unanimously.

In addition to his long career in national politics, Guterres is well-versed in the inner workings of the organization, having served as the head of the U.N. refugee agency for 10 years from 2005 to 2015. He is also known as a good communicator who is fluent in three of the five U.N. official languages ¡ª English, French and Spanish ¡ª in addition to his native Portuguese. His linguistic skills were a factor that helped his selection since these four languages represent the official languages of nine of the current council members.