Taking oath of office, António Guterres pledges to work for peace, development and a reformed United Nations

Sworn in today as the ninth and next United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres [2] pledged to reposition development at the centre of the Organization’s work and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community.

“The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy,” said Mr. Guterres after taking the oath of office at a ceremony before the 193-member UN General Assembly.

Mr. Guterres, a former Prime Minister of Portugal (1995 to 2002) and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees (2005-2015) replaces Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of the month after leading the global Organization for the past 10 years.

“The United Nations was born from war. Today we must be here for peace,” he added, noting that addressing root causes, cutting across all three pillars of the UN: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights, must be a priority for the Organization.

He was formally appointed [3] by the General Assembly on 13 October in what was the culmination of an historic process [4] Member States set in motion late last year: the selection of a new UN Secretary-General, traditionally decided behind closed-doors by a few powerful countries, for the first time in history, involved public discussions with each candidate vying for the leadership position.

Former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Guterres, takes the oath of office as the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations.  Credit: UN News Centre

Today’s ceremony opened with the Assembly paying tribute to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his contribution to the work of the UN since 1 January 2006.

António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate of the United Nations (right) with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after taking the oath of office for his five-year term beginning 1 January 2017. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate addresses the Assembly after taking the oath of office. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate (centre) with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (left) of Portugal and Prime Minister António Luís Santos da Costa of Portugal, ahead of the General Assembly meeting. UN Photo/Mark Garten

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) greets António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate ahead of the General Assembly meeting. Also pictured: the Secretary-General's wife, Yoo Soon-taek (right), and Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson. UN Photo/Mark Garten

Secretary-General-designate António Guterres (centre) with his wife Catarina Marques de Almeida Vaz Pinto, and Prime Minister António Luís Santos da Costa of Portugal ahead of the General Assembly meeting. UN Photo/Mark Garten

Secretary-General-designate António Guterres (centre right) and wife Catarina Marques de Almeida Vaz Pinto (centre left) arrive for the General Assembly meeting. Pictured with them: USG Catherine Pollard (left), ASG Kyung-wha Kang (right). UN Photo/Mark Garten

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