http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/world/americas/antonio-guterres-united-nations-secretary-general.html 2016-10-06 20:30:07 António Guterres Pledges to Help Vulnerable as Secretary General The Security Council formally approved the Portuguese politician’s nomination to succeed Ban Ki-moon as leader of the United Nations. === The Security Council on Thursday formally recommended The envoys representing the 15 members of the Council, including the five veto-wielding permanent members, decided by acclamation in a closed-door session to send Mr. Guterres’s name to the General Assembly for final approval. Speaking in Lisbon after the Council’s vote, Mr. Guterres said he accepted the endorsement with “gratitude and humility.” The selection process was an “exemplary process of transparency and openness,” he said, and the willingness of the deeply divided Security Council’s to reach consensus over his nomination should serve as “a symbolic moment.” He pledged to show “the humility that is needed to serve especially those that are most vulnerable,” victims of conflict, terrorism, human rights violations and poverty. Mr. Guterres, 67, who ran the United Nations refugee agency for 10 years, Many veteran diplomats and civil-society activists had hoped that the United Nations The 193-member General Assembly is expected to approve Mr. Guterres’s appointment next week. If elected, he will succeed the current secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, whose second five-year term expires at the end of this year.