Portugal's Guterres sworn in as next U.N. secretary-general

United Nations, 12 Dec. - (ANA) - 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 U.N. 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 U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 12 December 2016  - - -