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Portuguese politicians have reacted enthusiastically on Wednesday to the news that Antonio Guterres is poised to be the next United Nations secretary general from next year.
Guterres is set to win the race after 15 security council members decided to put his name forward to a formal vote.
Portuguese President Rebelo de Sousa said in an official statement that it was excellent news.
"I received the news of the agreement at the security council to propose Antonio Guterres as the next Secretary General of the United Nations with great happiness and emotion," Rebelo de Sousa said. "It is excellent news for the United Nations, because he is the best candidate for the role, and it is a great news for Portugal, because it is a Portuguese man with great value to occupy the most important place at the most important international organization."
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said he was extremely proud of the decision for Guterres to be appointed.
"As a Portuguese (citizen), it is an enormous pride, and as a citizen of the world, an enormous satisfaction, because everything indicates that we will have the right person in the right place," he told local journalists on Wednesday.
Former President Jorge Sampaio told local broadcaster SIC that the decision was a triumph over last-minute manoeuvres, and said the election meant a new chapter of hope for the organization.
Antonio Guterres, was unanimously selected Wednesday by the UN Security Council as the next UN secretary-general, succeeding UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 1, 2017. Photo: Xinhua/Li Muzi
Assuncao Cristas, head of Portuguese conservative party CDS-PP, praised the United Nations for a "transparent and public" princess, and said it was a victory for the organization. "It is a victory for the United Nations, which will have the best possible candidate," she said. "And it is something that honours Portugal very much and enables us to continue to assert ourselves as a nation that builds bridges and consensus and which will continue to work towards world peace," she said.
Leader of the Left Bloc Catarina Martins also said Guterres was the right person to work towards world peace. "The United Nations need a secretary general able to fight for the compliance of the United Nations Charter in what refers to reaching peace, cooperation for development and human rights. Antonio Guterres has the characteristics to embark on that path." she said.
(APD)
