Antonio Guterres assumed on January 1 the functions of the UN secretary-general, and will hold the post for the next five years.

New Secretary-General Guterres Takes Oath, Outlines Vision for United Nations MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UN General Assembly approved Guterres as the world body’s next secretary-general on October 13, 2016. 

Ahead of the election, he got unanimous support from the UN Security Council (UNSC) members. He took the oath before the UN General Assembly on December 12, 2016 with then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wishing him success. 

Guterres, 67, served as the prime minister of Portugal from 1995-2002. 

Guterres, who is also the former European Council president and ex-head of the Socialist International association of political parties, also served as the UN high commissioner for refugees in 2005-2015. 

He has vowed to be an impartial and independent mediator for the UN member states and to recognize the leadership of the states and the limitations of his role.