Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres took the oath of office on Monday to be the ninth United Nations Secretary-General with his hand on a copy of the UN Charter in front of the 193-member General Assembly.
Guterres, 67, will replace Ban Ki-moon, 72, of South Korea on Jan 1. Ban steps down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms. Guterres was Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015.