January 3, 2017

On January 1, Portuguese politician and diplomat António Guterres officially became the ninth secretary-general of the United Nations (UN). Guterres replaced Ban Ki-moon, who served two five-year terms from 2007 through 2016. The UN General Assembly elected Guterres in October 2016, and he took the oath of office as secretary-general in December. He previously served as prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and as the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015. Guterres is the first former head of state to lead the United Nations.

António Guterres became secretary-general of the United Nations on Jan. 1, 2017. Credit: Eric Bridiers, United States Mission Geneva (licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)

As secretary-general, Guterres must steer the United Nations through major challenges such as civil wars and unrest, particularly in parts of the Middle East, international refugee crises, and the ongoing global problems of terrorism, climate change, and gender inequality.

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres was born on April 30, 1949, in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1971, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), an elite engineering school. The institute is now part of the University of Lisbon. In addition to speaking Portuguese, Guterres is fluent in English, French, and Spanish.

Guterres launched his political career in 1974, when he joined the Socialist Party. He was elected to Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic (parliament) in 1976 in the country’s first democratic elections after more than 50 years of dictatorial rule. He served in parliament until 1983 and again from 1985 to 1995. In 1991, Guterres founded the Portuguese Refugee Council. He became the leader of the Socialist Party in 1992 and was elected prime minister in 1995, serving two terms.